Love actually DOAstyle!
by Dragemenian jew
Summary: Is there a life after the DOA-tournament? Well follow all our dear DOA-contestants threw the whole month before Christmas and find out. Family, friendship and romance and all kind of love including all contestants. Yaoi, yuri and straight pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hi again folks and welcome to my sixth fanfic and actually fourth DOA-fic.**

**I know Ken ni wanted a sequal to "the ninja-napping" but after well... almost 82,000 words of almost pure sillyness I´m kinda out of jokes but don´t worry this will contain certain elements of humor to. Anyway, hope you enjoy and certainely hope you review.  
**

"_**Le feu bleu"**_

Helena sighed as she locked the door open. It was six o´clock in the morning and the white and blue building was covered in snow. The blond woman shivered despite her long, brown coat. For Paris this winter was unusually cold.

Helena drew a sigh of relief as she entered the restaurant, locking the door behind her. She took a look around in the room before turning on the lights.

She had to say she´d been lucky being able to make this go around, she thought as she started taking the chairs down the tables. Even though she had both the money she´d inherited from her mother, a saved capital from her carrier as a opera-singer and quit a amount from getting far in various DOA-tournaments it couldn´t help the fact starting a restaurant and furthermore getting enough guests for earning a living was a tough project. It had taken its time but since Helena was a fighter when it came to everything she put her mind to she´d managed in making "Le feu blue" a relatively popular place.

After setting the tables and preparing everything that had to be done Helena gave a deep sigh. Sure she was proud of her progresses, sure she loved her little restaurant and the fact that she got appreciated for what she did but somehow it felt as if though something was missing. She couldn´t quit put her finger on what it was but somehow she felt as if though she could never really mean the smiles she gave her guests. It´d been that way ever since she lost her mother who was the only real friend she´d ever had.

It wasn´t as if though Helena couldn´t put it all behind her! She knew Donovan had been the head behind the murders of both her parents (even though Christie and Bayman had been the ones dealing the killing strikes they had little part in the planning and hadn´t done it out of evil) and since he was now dead she felt justice´d somehow been made. But her mother Maria had been the one person in her life that´d actually supported her, the one person she could confide everything, both joy and sorrow to and the only person that´d ever been able to make Helena smile.

-Dear mother, Helena whispered, I so wish you´d been alive to witness this.

Helena went into the kitchen making herself a cup of tea. She wouldn´t open up the restaurant for a other hour so she´d have some time for herself. Yes, time only for herself...!

_-_

Kasumi ran passed the streets. She was so cold even moving was hard for her. She had to find a place to warm herself soon, a place to rest.

The runaway ninja had been in Paris for two days and she was already out of all the money she´d earnt at her job as a waitress in Japan. It wasn´t that she was un careful with money or that she bought more then her purse could handle put paying once living was hard and so was finding a job when one didn´t have any education whatsoever (non that counted for the modern society anyway).

She was so tired of this, so cold so hungry and as far as she was concerned she wouldn´t have the money to fulfill any of those needs today, or any day if things ended bad enough.

"Maybe this is when it finally happens" a voice in the back of Kasumis head said but being the optimist she´d always been she pushed it away. "I´ll survive somehow" she thought "that´s what I´ve always done".

She looked beside herself suddenly noticing the food-store. She couldn´t afford anything in there, in fact not even a bubble gum but at least she´d be able to warm herself for a while. The red head sighed as she entered the glass door.

_._

Helena looked at the clock. She´d only been working for three hours but it felt as if though she´d been smiling at restaurant guests, investigating the work of the cooks and taken orders the whole day. Why she felt that way she didn´t really know.

She´d wanted to start a restaurant ever since the fourth tournament was over and she´d actually managed in doing it, but still she felt no pride, no joy or even surprise for the happy turn out.

It seemed to be that way with everything she did nowadays she thought as she sent yet another customers one of her false smiles when passing by.

Everyone sitting here seemed so happy, men, women, children young and old and no matter how distressed or irritated a person seemed to be when entering "le feu bleu" they always had a huge smile on their lips when going out. "Why can´t I feel that way" Helena thought to herself "despite the fact it´s my restaurant".

Helena didn´t find any joy these days, not in her restaurant, not in her pretty blue villa, not in the beautiful dresses she once again could afford and in fact not even in singing even though it´d always been her biggest passion. But strangely she didn´t feel sad either, not even the slight bit worried in fact, only… as if though she really didn´t give a damn. Bored in fact!

"How was your tarte aux pommes?" Helena smiled at the small boy sitting with his mother and his father in a corner of the room.

"Magnifique", the boy gave a toothless smile holding up a thumb.

"I´m pleased to hear" Helena said.

The boys mother and father met her gaze smiling at her. "Why can´t I be like them" Helena thought as she went into the kitchen.

But when she pictured herself in her head she wasn´t one of the parents but the child sitting between them enjoying her tarte aux pommes.

_._

Kasumi rubbed her palms together to warm them. She didn´t know how long she´d be able to sit here. How long before the expedit´d notice she wouldn´t order anything at this café, how long before they´d notice the stench of the shirt she hadn´t switched for days and the fact she hadn´t showered or washed her hair for long and throw her out.

"Hey sweet heart" a hoarse voice slurred next to her "what is a little girl like you doing all alone in this hour?"

Kasumi looked out of the window noticing how dark it was before looking at the man standing next to her table. Even though she´d faced far worse threats before she really didn´t like the look in his small eyes.

The man was rather tall, had a long black beard, a skin jacket that smelled of sweat and a equally bad breath when he opened his mouth for the second time.

"You know you´re a real beauty don´t you" he croaked "don´t you feel lonely sitting here all by yourself?"

"I´m okey really" Kasumi said calmly meeting his gaze "I was just leaving anyway".

"So you were?" the man gave a wide grin showing a row of yellow teeth with black wholes in several places "how about…" he supported his elbow on the table getting closer then Kasumi was comfortable with "I follow you out. Where is a pretty girl like you going anyway"?

Kasumi turned around looking all over the room. The guests had the back of their heads turned towards her and if they noticed what was happening they had chosen to ignore it.

Kasumi once again remembered how she must look with her uncombed red hair and torn blue jacket and knew that whether she got out of this situation or not would depend completely on herself.

"So" the man leant over the table moving his face a inch from Kasumis so she could smell the sweat of his skin "shall I sit down next to you sugar or do you want me to walk you home. Or… we can go to my place if you wish" the mans yellow teeth were once again visible, his small eyes shinning with excitement.

"As I said" Kasumi answered resolute" I´ll be fine on my own and in fact I´m leaving right now".

She rose from the chair walking around the table from the side the man was not standing pulling the jacket tight around her as she walked out of the restaurant.

But as she´d expected before it wouldn´t end this easily.

"Come to my place princess" the man slurred as he walked after her "I´ll take good care of you" he gave a raw laughter.

"Thank you" Kasumi said polite though resolute" but that won´t be necessary".

"But where are you going then" the man gave a loud laughter "where are you gonna go? I know your type sweets and you´re not going anywhere!"

As Kasumi´d expected. She would have to deal with this on her own!

The moment the man put his hand on her arm she grabbed a hold of his fingers, spun around, pressing her palm against the back of his hand making him scream out in pain.

"As I said" she said in her usual sweet tone" I´ll be fine on my own".

She didn´t even bother to give the man a second look as she let go of his hand and kept walking.

"Your little bitch" the man yelled after her but Kasumi didn´t seem to care.

As she´d said she was fine on her own. She´d been for a long time.

_._

"Ayane!" Hayate called out.

"Yes, onii-san" Ayane came running towards her brother.

The cold, white, winter that´d made its way into the larger part of Japan was nowhere to be found here. The pink cherry blossom, the white Primula and the green trees were all blooming like never before and safe for the small gusts of the wind passing by now and then the air was no different from what it´d been in the early summer almost six months ago.

"Hayate-sama!" Ayane ran over the wooden bridge hanging over the pond.

"I have something I need your advice about" Hayate´s said as his sister stopped in front of him outside the small, white house "why don´t we go inside?"

Ayane looked in silence at the auburn haired man. Saying Hayate looked anything but serious usually and calling the look in his eyes anything but distant and filled with sorrow would be a idealized description. But what Ayane saw when looking back at the person she admired more then anyone else in the world made her worried.

"Are you coming" Hayate gestured towards the small house behind him.

Ayane nodded.

Once they sat down on the floor (because the building wasn´t big enough to contain any furniture or even any other rooms then the very one they were sitting in) Hayate gave a deep sigh.

"You know that it will soon be Christmas" the mugen-tenshin leader said.

"But onii-chan" Ayanes eyes widened "we don´t celebrate Christmas, we´re not Christian. In fact very few people even in Japan are".

"I know" Hayate sighed again making Ayane regret what she´d said immediately.

"Onii-chan is more fragile then he seems" Ayane thought to herself "and the last months has really been hard on him".

If Hayate´d hardly ever spoken to anyone in the village before it was nothing comparing to how he was right now. Ever since the fourth DOA-tournament was over he´d shut the world out, hardly ever showing his face in Haji-mon or even Mugen-tenshin anymore.

"I know" Hayate said again "but however" he looked his sister into the eyes "I thought it was about time we changed that".

Ayane frowned looking back at him.

"No matter if one shares the original beliefs behind Christmas" Hayate said "it stands for something good, it stands for love" the ninjas face brightened up all of a sudden "for warmth, compassion, generosity".

Ayane looked at her brother, still wondering if he´d lost all sense.

"And that however, sister" he looked his younger sister in the eyes" is something no one in this family´s experienced for long. Not since…" the look in Hayates face was suddenly equally torn as in the beginning of the conversation.

Ayane nodded knowing exactly what he meant. Neither she nor Hayate had ever experienced any of those things he´d talked about since Kasumi left. Kasumi… they hadn´t spoken about her for a long time, but they both seemed to know how the other felt like they´d somehow always did.

"I want to bring her back" Hayate said after a while, taking a deep breath.

Ayane looked back at him for a while before nodding again.

"I want us to be a family again" Hayate said "and catch up on the time we´ve lost".

"Do you want me to bring her back?" Ayane´s voice was serious as she spoke.

"No" Hayate said softly, shaking his head "I need you here, this time Ayane-chan, I´m going".

_._

Helena yawned. It had been a tough day today but it had paid of. The number of guests had increased by the third and at least half her guests had eaten a whole three-meals menu.

She put the chairs on the table. Helena´d sent the rest of her staff home for the day since there wasn´t that much cleaning left to do that she couldn´t deal with it herself.

She looked outside. The snow seemed to fall faster then ever and the sky had turned into a beautiful dark blue shade. As Helena looked at the millions of stars outside she remembered the evenings she and her mother´d spent outside their villa.

"If a star falls you may make a wish" her mother´d said.

As Helena stood glued to the window she didn´t think when seeing the star fall (now ten years later) as she once again made her wish. "I wish I didn´t feel so alone" she thought.

_._

Kasumi ran. Not because she was hunted, not because she had anything she had to be on time to. Truth to say no one even cared enough about her to chase her and truth to say _she _didn´t care enough about anything or anyone to be in time.

As for now there was only one thing she cared about (the one last thing she cared about) was keeping the warmth up and despite her physical condition she wouldn´t be able to run much longer. "I guess this is when I´ll have to realize not even I can outrun everything" Kasumi thought as she slowly felt her powers abandon her.

Her jacket was to thin, the soles of her shoes to torn and her body to cold for the former kuniochi to even have a chance to make it threw the night. All stores, cafés, restaurants and even bares were shut for the evening (it was a week day after all) and the way she looked with her old clothes there wasn´t a chance anyone would let her into their houses. For a moment she almost regretted turning the man harassing her earlier´s offer down even though she´d known his intentions. "I should never have left the village" Kasumi thought as she more and more surrendered to the cold around her.

_._

Helena put the last chair up on the table. Her long pondering had slowed the cleaning process down somewhat and she was now almost twenty minutes later to leave then she used to be.

"At last" Helena thought to herself as she started putting her coat on. If she´d hurry she´d be home in time to see the news.

The former opera-singer was just about to open the door when it was opened the opposite direction so hard she fell to the floor, the person on the other side falling on top of her.

On impulse Helena immediately showed the other person away from her rising to her knees.

Helenas eyes widened in shock as she recognized the girl with the long, red hair and the torn red jacket.

"Kasumi…"Helena starred at the young girl.

"Helena" Kasumi said feebly "help me please…"

And after this was said she closed her eyes lying unconscious on the floor.

**AN: So this dear DOA-fanatics was my first and brand new chapter, hope you enjoyed. And just so you know I´m not one hundred procent sure about all the pairings yet even though I´m hardcore sure about some that I won´t reveal right now. But I´ll give you a hint! If you´re hoping for any of the traditional ones Christie x Bayman, Kasumi x Ryu, Lei fang x Jann Lee or even Ryu x Hayate you´ll be really dissapointed.**

**But if you have any ideas just PM me on my profile. Can´t promise I´ll obey but I´ll consider my advice and If you want like a hint to what matchmaking I´m up to, look at my profile (it´s actually changed a lot lately) and well if you don´t want spoilers DON´T, but once again you may be surprised anyway. **

**If you want to know what happens next plz, REWIEW! I really want to know what you think of my stories ALL OF THEM!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:**

**Dragemenian jew: Hi my dear DOA-lovers now I´m back with my second chapter and guess what Bayman (looks beside her) you´re going to be in it!**

**Bayman (sighs): Do I have to?**

**Dragemenian jew: Why not?**

**Bayman (mutters): Why should I? I mean... you killed me in your last story! **

**Dragemenian jew (waves the comment away): Don´t worry about that (smiles) I was in a bad mood back then because I was sick to death writing "The ninja-napping" but now I´m not writing it anymore so tada! I´m not in a bad mood anymore.**

**Bayman: Ok then, but just don´t pair me up with that jerk Jann Lee again!**

**Jann Lee cries: I´m not a jerk! **

**Dragemenian jew: Don´t worry, Bayman! I was actually planning to pair you up with...(whispers in Baymans ear).**

**Bayman (smiles): That doesn´t sound so bad (calles out) DOA fans she´s pairing me up with....**

**Dragemenian jew: Scccccch! Bayman, you know I´m not aloud to revile any pairings yet! (Smiles at the fans) Boys and girls welcome to my next chapter!  
**

_**The US is a cold country to:**_

"What time is it?" Christie raised her eyebrow.

Bayman sighed. This was about the seventh time in a hour she asked him this.

"Christie" he said "you won´t get home faster no matter how many times you ask. And by the way, why don´t you get your own watch"?

"But mine was broken at the "She quan"-practice" the Brittish woman whined.

"Yes", Bayman said calmly "and you´ve had plenty of time getting a new one since then".

"To much conversation, to little work" a way to familiar and way to annoyingly singing voice said.

Both Christie and Bayman turned around to meet the gaze of their tormentor. The man was middle aged, shorter then both of them, had a bald head and a thin brown mustache. His eye-glasses were so thick one could hardly see his eyes behind them and his voice in some strange way both cheerful and patronizing at the same time.

"So we were chatting were we" mr Johnson gave one of his exaggerated smiles "and didn´t consider the fact, people are waiting to order here".

Bayman looked over the disk, all of a sudden noticing the line of tired and angry faces in front of him. The bartender job, a job where every day was a fun chapter in itself!

"So now" mr Johnson gave a triumphant smile "will we stop chitteli-chatteling so much and think about why we´re here"?

"I´m so going to kill him" Christie hissed after their boss´d left.

"To late for that" Bayman raised a eyebrow.

"I know" Christie muttered, creaking her knuckles "that´s what pisses me off ".

Yeah! In fact at times that pissed Bayman of to even though he somehow felt leaving the assassin business to try adapt into a "normal" life had been the right thing to do. It was a long time since he´d been pushed around this way by a employer (unless one counted Donovans numerous attempts to get him killed) without even being aloud to give so much as a sharp reply back without risk loosing his job. But still he was going to follow threw with it! He wanted to believe there was a meaning with him getting out of Doatec alive last "DOA-tournament" even though it meant he had to work for the most annoying man in the whole New York.

"So what do you want" Bayman asked the man in front of him with the politeness he´d finally learnt after about three months at this place.

_._

"Crap!" Tina exclaimed for about the tenth time this evening, throwing the guitar to the floor.

No matter how many times she tried she never seemed to get a grip of this damn song and her inspiration was like her career would be in only a few weeks if she didn´t get her act together, dead.

"Crap, crap, crap" she muttered as she rose to her feet "glorious crap of crapiness".

The "Dead or alive"-tournament had only been a step on the road to success for Tina but yet it seemed that along with it all her creativity and purpose had vanished in flames.

Even though she´d loved wrestling acting and playing guitar had always been what she´d dreamed of doing ever since she was a child but yet it seemed "the DOA-tournament" or well… at least a part of it had also been a big part of her.

She was famous now! There were few people in the US that didn´t know the face of the former model, actress of numerous big shot movies and the lead guitarist of one of the worlds most famous rock-bands and also a exceptional songwriter. Almost every magazine had a article about her these days, "Tina Armstrong wins her first Oscar", "Tina Armstrong rules the stage again", "Tina Armstrong participates at Operahs tonight" and last but not least "Tina Armstrong breaks contact with her father".

Tina sighed as she went into the hall of the three rooms apartment she had all to herself. She could afford anything she wanted, expensive jewelry, tickets to "the Milano runway-show", tickets to all premiers, dinner at the most exclusive restaurants in town and the list could be made even longer… but still…

She took the phone in her hand. She was going to call someone who always listened, someone who would always understand.

"Hitomi" she said as the voice answered on the other side of the phone "how would you feel about renting a movie and order some Chinese-food".

_._

"To stupid" Bass shrugged his shoulders switching channels from silent library to a program on Discovery Channel about the Pyramids, "to smart", he decided switching to channel five.

At Channel five two men in military clothes talked seriously to one another.

"This might be watchable" the large man muttered.

But all his hope of "wacthabilty" died with the passionate kiss the men shared.

"To gay" Bass stated as he switched channels once again.

As Doctor Phils face appeared on the TV, the famous psychiatrist once again trying to sort a argument between a whiny wife and a sheepish husband out, it didn´t take long for Bass to hit the remote again.

"To gay" he said again.

After switching himself threw, thousands of chick-flics. bad horror-movies, cooking-programs and even water-polo Bass stopped at a program about lost puppies saying;

"At least they aren´t making out or try to blame each other for their bad marriage".

"I wonder if I shall call her" he thought to himself "it has almost been six months since we last talked and she is my daughter after all".

He took a fist full of chips in his mouth before trotting towards the phone. He dialed the number slowly, with his heart up his throat. He knew she very possibly might not want to talk to him but still he wasn´t sure he could bare the rejection, the rejection that would once again come from his own daughter. His heart pounded more and more for every signal.

After the third signal Bass hung up, catching his breath. He didn´t want to find out if Tina´d answered after the fourth or fifth, imagine she might have was so much better then knowing once again his own daughter didn´t care about him.

And with that thought he went back to watching the puppies.

"Hey!" Bass exclaimed "yellow dog, don´t bite the black one in the ear".

_._

"Hello" Tina called into the phone "Hello! Prank-call!" she muttered as she hung up "I´ve had lots of them lately".

"Being famous isn´t always that easy is it?" Hitomi gave her friend a compassionate look.

"It isn´t" Tina muttered again "the fact is being famous is filled with prank-calls, dead-lines you can´t measure up to, people asking you annoying questions and things that you really don´t want written on a news bill" the blond put her hands to her temples "in fact I sometimes hate being famous so much I´d prefer going around against the bloody Tengu to it".

"Boy!" the little brunette looked wide eyed at her friend "is it really that bad?"

"Can you send me the shrimps, please?" Tina gave a resigned sigh.

"Sure" Hitomi reached the shrimp basket to her friend.

"Imagine such a thing like having to order Chinese-food to feel alive" Tina said as she put a fist full of shrimps into her mouth " and yeah!" she gave Hitomi a meaningful look "it is _that _bad. As if though it isn´t enough I know I have problems with my dad the whole world has to know. And then there´s this damn idiot who just keeps calling me and hangs up after the second or third signal" she shook her head "I really don´t understand".

"But Tina" Hitomi looked at the blond "don´t you have a caller-ID?"

"A what?" Tina frowned.

Hitomi shook her head. Despite the fact Tina was practically a child of the new age, simple things as caller-ID:s seemed to be complete mysteries to her.

"Never mind" Hitomi smiled "we´ll get you one tomorrow. Wanna go see what´s on TV"?

"Yeah! Sure" Tina shrugged her shoulders "why not?"

"I´ve heard "Desperate housewives" starting again" Hitomi said.

"Why didn´t you say so to begin with, girl?" Tina gave a broad smile, flashing her white teeth "what are we waiting for".

_._

"To gay" Christie stated as she switched from doctor Phil "to desperate" she said as she flipped passed "Desperate housewives. To much fat!" she raised a eyebrow when flipping passed "biggest looser".

Bayman shrugged his shoulders. As usual there was nothing worth watching on TV once you really needed something to watch.

"But seriously" Christie exclaimed next to him on the couch "he only gets daughters and he thinks it´s his wives fault. If anything it´s really his bloody semen witch in other sentences means his and only his damn fault" she pointed at the screen wich now showed a documentary of some sort about extreme Christianity.

Barely watching Bayman shrugged his shoulders again.

"Yeah he´s really stupid" he said "listen up, Christie! Since "the malevolent four eye" (that was the bad nickname they´d given Mr Johnson) gave us a pretty rough time this evening I´m gonna go to bed now… so" he handed the remote over to his room mate "the power is yours".

Yeah, in fact Bayman and Christie weren´t _anything_ but roommates_. _There was nothing romantic or even the slight bit tensed between them (even though their neighbors seemed to gossip about them all the time), they were two former assassins whom´d decided to cooperate in making a decent living and truth to say it worked out pretty well.

They´d been living together for about six months, ever since the last tournament´d ended actually and they´d decided to live that way until they earned money enough affording their own places. Since non of them were big talkers, non of them had any serious organizational issues or issues about others having organizational issues they got along pretty well. Despite the fact the apartment was small, they hardly ever walked on each other since they both had the largest respect for integrity, being two of the worst loners in the world.

"Night"! Christie said as Bayman went into his bedroom. Christie shrugged her shoulders switching channels again.

She found herself watching animal planet and two puppies playing with the boll.

"But give him the boll will you!" she exclaimed as she saw the black puppy running away with the blue boll for about the seventh time in a row "he needs to get to play to! Children can be so cruel at times" the former assassin shook her head.

**AN: Ok? Have you read? Then tell me what you think (vicious smile) or I might not go on with this.**

**OBS! I´ve now changed my forum "A weird kind of love" to "DOA-yaoi". Really hope no one got pissed but I´m really sick to death of there being so little (and sigh! So predictable) yaoi in the DOA-section. So if you have opinions about this subject, feel free to come and discuss it! Or if you´re to lazy to write just read what I´ve written about each pairing and get a opinion. **

**PS. If you want to know wich pairings I prefer go up on my profile and read, it might get a time to scroll down since my profile´s looooong but they are there, I promise! And of course, you might get a idea to what matchmaking I´m up to if you go up on my forum "DOA-yaoi". And who knows! You might even get a chance to affect me into using **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello! How long since I updated? Hm, this isn´t like me. But don´t worry D:) my muse hasn´t died, I´ve just been really busy.**

**Lei fang: That´s no excuse! You should have uploaded my chapter days ago.  
**

**Dragemenian jew (raises a eyebrow): _Your_ chapter?**

**Lei fang (mutters): Okey! It´s not only _my_ chapter but I´m a big part of it.**

**Dragemenian jew (smiles): Yes, you are and it´s gonna be interesting.**

**Lei fang (looks worried all of a sudden): You aren´t pairing me up with Jann Lee, are you? **

**Dragemenian jew (rolles eyes): Seriously Lei, if you´d read my last chapter you´d known I wasn´t gonna use any of the most used pairings on this site. **

**Lei fang (sighs in relief): So glad you´re saying that!**

**Jann Lee (cryes): Why doesn´t anyone want to be paired up with me?**

**Dragemenian jew (petts him on the head): You poor baby! I´ll find you a good match up! And now! (looks at the fans) Back to the story!  
**

_**"Practice goes on regardless if "the dead or alive tournament" does or not" **_

"Focus Elliot, focus!" Gen Fu exclaimed as his young apprentice was once again knocked to the floor.

"Sorry, master" Elliot mumbled as he slowly rose to his feet.

"If this would have been a fight on the street" the old man gave a deep sigh, looking at the boy with a slight frown "you would have been dead now. You just can´t let your thoughts distract you".

"I´m sorry master" Elliot bowed respectfully towards his master.

Truth to say Elliot really didn´t know what had gotten into him the last six months. He´d got what he wanted. He´d won a match against his master Gen Fu in the DOA-tournament and had with that proved worthy of becoming the legendary "iron fists" apprentice and move to China to train with him but still he felt as if though a big part of his passion had disappeared with the struggle to reach a goal.

"You know what Elliot?" Gen Fu looked at his apprentice "you´re a good fighter but truthfully I really don´t know what´s happened to you lately. You know what?" he gave the boy a friendly smile "why don´t you take the rest of the day of and come back with regained powers tomorrow".

Elliot was quiet for a while before suddenly nodding as a answer.

"Thank you, master" he said "I´ll see you tomorrow".

_._

"You´re so dead, Jann Lee!" Lei fang gave a excited smile as she ran towards her opponent aiming with her foot towards his head.

Jann Lee grinned as he blocked her kick aiming four punches towards her head and stomach that she blocked with equal effortlessness.

"I´m warning you Jann" the girl sang "you should never have said that".

"I´ll say it again" Jann Lee teased as he stepped aside for another one of her punches "Jet and Lei Lei sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g".

"Okey" Lei fang smirked "my patience with you is over".

Before Jann Lee had time reacting Lei fang made one of her familiar moves, wrapping her arms around him, tackling him to the floor.

After that was done the two fighters burst out in a bubbling laughter that didn´t seem to end.

"Wanna go grab some lunch?" Jann Lee said when they´d calmed down "we´ve been working hard today".

"Love to" Lei fang said" wanna go to the restaurant in the corner?"

"Sure" Jann Lee gave a meaningful grin "but you´ll have to get of me first"

"Yeah" Lei fang frowned when noticing she was still lying over her friend.

Lei fang and Jann Lee rose to their feet, leaving the Dojo.

_._

"These chicken-skewers are the best!" Lei fang exclaimed, her eyes shinning with excitement.

"I know" Jann Lee laughed looking at her plate "this is about your forth portion".

They were now sitting at one of their favorite restaurants, where a buffé was held every weekday.

"I know" Lei fang said, stuffing her mouth full of yet another big piece of chicken.

"So" Jann Lee pulled out the words giving a naughty smile "what are you gonna do about mr Jet?".

After a long six months friendship with Jann Lee, Lei fang should have learnt by now that there was certain subjects he just couldn´t leave alone. But somehow she hadn´t so she coughed, almost choking on the big piece of chicken in her mouth and grew high red.

"Damn it, Jann!" Lei fang said after calming down "you know he´s like seven years older then me".

Jann Lee sat quiet only giving a sneer as a answer.

"And if he actually was my age" Lei fang said suddenly sounding serious "you know I really don´t have time to..."

"Fall in love?" Jann Lee gave her a meaningful look "come on, Lei! You gotta be aloud to be young you to. You´ll have plenty of time beating me up meanwhile".

At this Lei fang couldn´t help laughing. Defeating Jann Lee had been her goal ever since he´d saved her from getting beat up a few years ago for the simple purpose of proving she could take care of herself. Now that she´d managed in beating him two DOA-tournaments in a row she realized what she´d really wanted was the admiration and friendship of the one person she admired most in the world and now that she had it she was happier then ever.

"As much as I admire your ambition Lei, with all your martial arts classes and everything" Jann Lee said softly "I would like you to… actually live a bit. Stop denying yourself everything good".

"I don´t" Lei fang grinned triumphantly holding up a chicken skewer.

Jann Lee gave a soft smile.

"You´ll learn what I mean in time" he said.

"_What, _exactly? Lei fang said somewhat warily.

One thing about Jann Lee that could still irritate her to death was that he acted as if though he knew so much more about life then she did and as if though she had so much more left to learn and seriously… he was only a few years older then her.

"You´ll know when you feel it" Jann Lee had a almost dreamlike expression in his face when speaking.

Lei fang looked at him for a while trying to find the truth in his eyes noticing his attention weren´t actually focused on _her _anymore before rising to her feet.

"So okey" she said "mister, super-gay lord of the universe I´m gonna get some more skewers, shall I get you some to"?

"Fine by me" Jann Lee shrugged his shoulders "just don´t eat them up on the way" .

"Ha ha!" Lei fang made a grimace at him before giving a amused smile, shaking her head.

_._

Elliot strolled along the streets of Peking. He had the rest of the day of from training but didn´t really know what to do with it.

"I could always start on buying my Christmas-gifts" he thought when suddenly remembering he wouldn´t get to celebrate Christmas this year.

He looked around. It was the beginning of December and no snow to be found, the air was slight chilly but the big official buildings, brown, yellow and blue houses and flourishing and very much alive gardens gave no Christmas feeling whatsoever.

Elliot´d known what he´d signed up for when moving to China and he´d even thought it would be a exciting and thrilling experience and he had felt that way for… well two weeks before immediately longing back to England again and everything he had there.

He missed his mothers annoying and constant ways of asking him if he´d ate properly, his proper English breakfast Tea in the morning and the fact that it actually _snowed _in England. Elliot sighed as he picked up his selephone. He tapped in the letter M immediately leading to one of the few contacts he had programmed since his commitment to martial arts hardly ever gave him time enough to make friends.

As he looked at the name "mum" with the number written under it he stopped dead still on the street to think out excuses to call.

"I could ask her what she wants for Christmas" he thought to himself.

Thing was, that he had called his mother only yesterday and Elliot didn´t want to seem _needy. _Ever since his father´d left home when he was but a small boy Elliot had learnt not to depend on anyone and that the only male road-model he had access to was himself. So he had learnt to deal with everything troubling him simply by focusing on other things, like his martial arts practice witch had actually worked out pretty well. "And now that I´m sick to death of it" he thought "now what?"

It took about three signals before he heard his mothers voice on the other side of the line.

"Elliot, darling! I didn´t expect you to call so soon. Aren´t you supposed to be on practice?"

Elliot sighed inwards. "I really should be" he couldn´t help thinking with a slight trace of guilt. He wanted to be dedicated, the worthy successor of a master like Gen fu.

"Master gave me the day of" he said.

"Oh!" his mother sang "that was a surprise. Guess he´s rewarding you for all the times he´s made you train over time".

"Yeah, that must be why" Elliot answered staying quiet about the true reason for his _well earned rest_.

"So, what made you call your old mother" the other voice sounded as cheerful as ever "home longing?"

"Yes" Elliot wanted to say" I´m dying to get home to see you, my sister and brother".

"No" he answered instead "I called to ask you what you wanted for Christmas?"

"Oh how kind of you" his mother exclaimed "but I really don´t need anything dear. I know you have much to focus on and knowing you won´t come home for Christmas this year it´d be less complicated if we skipped the gift-exchange this time around".

Elliot wanted to cry when hearing the last sentence. His mothers voice sounded as happy and untroubled as ever but the fact that he was once again reminded of where he´d be this Christmas made him feel lonelier then ever before.

"Are you sure?" was the only thing he allowed himself to say.

"Oh dear!" suddenly his mothers voice sounded rushed "I´m burning the beef. Honey, can I come back to you later?"

"No problem" Elliot answered, even though it was.

"Love you honey!"

And so he was alone again with his thoughts, Elliot allowed himself to give a deep sigh. He knew his mother wouldn´t come back _later _because her agenda was like her mind full and her memory like that of a gold fish and the only way he´d speak to her again soon was if he called again and said he _needed _to talk and if he did he´d already given up.

"Time to find her a present" Elliot said as he made a decision.

_._

"Seriously!" Jann Lee stuck his tongue out "how long are you gonna be here?"

"Relax, Jann!" Lei fang said still not taking her eyes of the glass figures.

"But Lei!" Jann Lee exclaimed, "this is about the tenth time you pass this shelf by".

"Don´t complain Jann" Lei fang said, holding a cat with golden tail and ears in her hand "I didn´t complain when you stood in the video-shop, drooling over the covers to the Bruce Lee- movies. And I´m pretty sure you _didn´t _swich shelf once" she turned around giving her friend a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah! Jann Lee muttered "I´m obsessed with the greatest fighter of our times, sue me!" but the heart felt smile he gave second afterwards showed he wasn´t upset, "dear Lei, look at anything you want but please decide on something soon because glass-animals really are the biggest thrill killers I can think of".

"Only because they´re no match in a knock out round" Lei fang stuck her tongue at him.

"Could be" Jann Lee shrugged his shoulders.

"Don´t say that!" Lei fang blinked at him picking up a glass dragon "roah, roah, grr" she snarled moving the dragon back and forth towards her friend.

"You are and always were a hopeless case" Jann Lee smiled shaking his head.

The two friends turned around suddenly noticing the expedite, a small, man in his sixties with rather thick glasses looking sourly at them.

"I´ll be taking this one" Lei fang smiled at him holding up the dragon.

_._

After a long time of endless walking and pondering Elliot had finally decided. It wasn´t the best gift he could think of but it was at least _something. _He stopped by at the small ornament-shop he sometimes passed by on the way home, entering the glass doors of the elegant, white, brick building.

"Elliot, how are you doing"? the man behind the disk said with a smile.

"Just fine, mr Wu" Elliot said with a polite bow "how are you?"

Elliot had been to this place so many times that Mr Wu, the owner of the shop had started recognizing him and the fact that Elliot was always polite, acted much more mature then his age and asked many questions about the works in his shop the two quickly became friends.

"How´s your training going?" the elderly man asked.

"Well I guess" Elliot frowned, shrugging his shoulders.

Mr Wu looked at the boy for a while before suddenly brightening up in a huge smile.

"We all have our ups and downs my friend" he said "and there are times when even our greatest passions areunbearable, but it´ll pass my friend, it´ll pass".

Elliot gave a deep sigh.

"I sure hope so" he said.

Elliot looked over the many shelves, with glass animals, letting his eyes wander time after time over that very shelf where he´d found it last time.

"Where are the luck-dragons?" he asked.

"I´m sorry to tell you" Mr Wu turned thoughtful "but the last one was bought only a few minutes ago. A really badly brought up girl" he shook his head frowning "waved around the dragon as if though it was a toy, am really glad she bought it before she crashed it".

Elliot shook his head, some people! Personally he had the biggest respect for such complicated creations and he could not see how someone could handle them so roughly.

"I guess I have to find her something else then" he thought.

_._

"Seriously Lei"! Jann Lee gave his friend a grin as they walked side by side "You didn´t really wan´t it did you?"

Lei fang shrugged her shoulders smiling back.

"With the look he gave me" she held up the bag containing the glass dragon "I didn´t get much other options did I?"

Jann Lee shook his head.

"Lei" he said pretending to be surprised "the mighty Phoenix actually afraid of getting into a fight"

"I don´t know if you have a death wish or something" Lei fang raised a eyebrow "but a old man who has _that _look in his eyes is someone I´d rather not piss further off. Just look at Gen Fu!"

"Speaking of that" Jann Lee said "have you heard that Gen Fu has a Dojo here in town"

"He has?" Lei fangs eyes widened "strange we´ve never heard of it"

"Shall we pay him a visit?" Jann Lee looked at his former opponent.

"Why not?" Lei fangs eyes sparkled with excitement "how about we seek him up tomorrow?"

"We could do that" Jann Lee agreed "I kind of well… miss the old times".

"Me to" Lei fang turned serious.

The two exchanged a look in consort before returning to their own thoughts. They both understood perfectly well what the other one meant.

Even though they both loved their lives as they were now, their daily training, their strolls in town and their crazy talks together they somehow felt something was missing.

After all they´d been participating in four Dead or Alive-tournaments and risking their lives, meeting fellow fighters and see new thrilling places was yes… a way of life.

"So" Lei fang said with a smile "wanna go rent a movie and see it at my place"

"Sure" Jann Lee said.

"I´ll let you choose" she gave him a warning look "but no Bruce Lee, this time, ok?"

"Ok, then" Jann Lee gave a resigned sigh "but no chick flick either"

"Ok" Lei fang shrugged her shoulders "but don´t take anything to un-chick-flic, okay? Because other wise" she brought forth the dragon who was now wrapped up in paper pointing it at Jann "roar, roar!" she made fake roars before giving a triumphant smile, "get the point"

"Yeah" Jann Lee gave a resigned smile "I´ll be eaten alive by a dragon in glass, wrapped up in paper. Come on, miss dragon tamer, let´s go to the video-store before it closes" he put a arm around the over enthusiastic girl who he was now proud to call his best friend.

**AN: Yeah! That was your next chapter, but I´m warning you though that it might take long before my next update since I´m busy studying for exams and will go away for a while (kinda suck, I know cause all I really wanna do is write this story). But please, keep reviewing cause I´ve really put a lot of effort into this!**

**Lei fang: But hey! You still haven´t said who I´ll be paired up with!**

**Dragemenian jew (smiles misschiviously): Yeah! I´ve got one for both you, Tina and Bayman but I´m not gonna tell you anything!**

**Lei fang (protests): But Bayman got to know! Why should I always be kept in the dark when it comes to story-lines? In "the ninja-napping" you had me sing Negima´s "love sensation" without as much as a warning. I need to prepare for my preformances, you know!  
**

**Dragemenian jew: After this AN, Ok? As for you (looks back at the fans) you´ll have to wait a bit longer (blinks) see ya! And today, 31 Mars that is, is my birthday! So nothing would make a better birthday gift then a good review so plz, RR!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hi again my dear fans and sorry for the late update. As usual I have a lot of homeworks from art-class and writing-class that I´m sooo not pleased with cause it stops me from writing things that are actually _worth _writing. And I really want to thank you who´ve reviewed me for your kind words and if you don´t get your liked pairings in this fic I might provide them in another one if you keep being as kind as you have been. But once again thanks and sorry for the late update!  
**

_**"On deep water"**_

Helena sighed as she watched the sleeping red head lying in her couch. Ever since Kasumi´d fainted on the floor in her restaurant the girl had been weak. Her long time in the cold had caused the runaway ninja a sever fever and truthfully Helena hadn´t been sure she´d actually make it threw the day.

Yes, Helena had had her clashes with the ninjas when she tried to live out her plans with Doatec but even though she´d gone as far as to threaten Kasumi with a gun she´d never meant the girl any harm. In fact, strange as it sounded she had always respected her opponent despite the fact they obviously fought for such different purposes and if fate hadn´t wanted them to be opponents she´d wished the girl good luck in her task to destroy Alpha 59.

Helena put her hand to the girls forehead. Her fever had gone down but she was still hotter then what was normal.

Helena so hated this! She was now sure Kasumi´d live threw the day but it would still take a few days until she was strong enough to make it through on her own.

Truth to say Helena hated having people at her place and especially sleeping in _her_ bed. Helena was a person used to luxury and space and her being forced sleeping on the couch was far more displeasing then most people could imagine.

"I really have to read more about medicine" Helena muttered "so I can have her out of here soon".

As if it hadn´t been enough Kasumi had stolen her dear bed she had made horrible noises the whole night threw that´d kept Helena awake. It had been snores (yes, the sweet young girl, with the angelic face actually snored) sleep talking and once even sleep-singing.

Helena had never had a roommate before and the last nights with Kasumi at her place had made her feel more then ever that she really hadn´t missed out on anything living by herself.

The former opera-singer took a deep breath before leaving her bedroom. She´d have to take her chances leaving home and actually open the restaurant today, since she couldn´t leave the management to her co-workers much longer (Helena was the worst kind of control-freak after all and for someone else to handle her business…). The girl hadn´t even been well enough to talk so what trouble could she possibly cause while Helena was away?

_._

Hayate sighed as he walked passed the modern official buildings and the small houses. Even though he´d been outside his village several times it felt as if though he´d never been that far from home.

After several painful and completely, fruitless attempts of looking for his sister in the big cities of Japan he felt almost ready to give up. It seemed as if though Kasumi had vanished with the wind since every trace witnessing of her presence had been completely wiped out.

"Now I know how she felt" he thought to himself "looking around like this for years. I´m such a pathetic man who´s about to give up only after two days".

But truth to say he was completely clueless in his search. Because he had no idea what identity (if Kasumi even used one) he was going to look for, she had no personal-number, no birth-attest that counted for the normal world and Hayate didn´t even have the slightest idea if she even was in Japan anymore.

Hayate sighed. He would grab something to eat first and then carry on with the search.

_._

"But what do you have against it"? Kokoro exclaimed "it´s not as if though I´m gonna move in with her".

The older woman with the black bun, only looked troubled, though sympathetically at her daughter.

"Mum!" Kokoro yelled "she´s a person just like you and me, and she shouldn´t have to pay for what her father did!"

"My child" Miyuki gave a deep sigh "life is not that simple and when you grow older you will understand".

"I will never understand keeping two sisters away from each other" Kokoros face reflected a anger and defiance that was rare due to her peaceful nature "Helena Douglas is my family just as much as you are and I´m not gonna close my eyes to that fact".

"Kokoro" Miyuki said softly "I don´t want to deprive you of anything but it is best if you and I stay as far away from that family as possible".

"But it´s not your decision to make!"Kokoro was so furious she hardly recognized herself "the decision is mine and Helenas only and I am the one related to her not you!"

It went quiet for a while, Kokoro taking a deep breath. She knew the last line was something that´d hurt her mother more then anything. Helena wasn´t Miyukis daughter but still the daughter of her former husband and that fact, the fact that Miyuki hadn´t been Fames only one was something Kokoro knew still bothered her.

"Okey" Miyuki said softly, looking seriously at her daughter "let´s say you´re really following threw with this. That you´re going to France looking for your half-sister and that you despite all odds find her. Are you really sure she´s as eager for this reunion as you are?"

Kokoro took a deep breath, thinking it over before finally giving her answer.

"I´m not sure I´ll find her" she said " and above all not sure she wants anything to do with me. By doing this I risk disappointment and who knows even hearing things I don´t want to know, but I know that if I don´t follow threw with this the disappointment I´ll feel towards myself will be even worse".

Miyuki looked at her daughter.

"You´re really going to follow threw with this?" it wasn´t really a question.

Kokoro nodded in silence.

_._

Kasumi yawned, opening her eyes slowly. She´d dreamt of water this night, a deep dark sea with no bottom. She remembered falling deeper and deeper down a endless surface with no light and no matter how she kicked and struggled only falling further down.

As Kasumi opened her eyes, her breathing almost stopped. She was in a lit room, with light blue curtains and dark blue walls decorated with black dolphins and she was lying in a bed, a big, soft bed with silky sheets.

Due to her alert nature the female ninja immediately grew a big lump down her throat. She was lying here in a bed, in a place she knew nothing about.

In a moment of irrational fear she almost believed she´d accepted the creepy mans offer last evening and followed him home but quickly realized that couldn´t be the case since he was to un-kept to own one such home.

But no matter the case this was still distressing. Of course she was glad someone had saved her from freezing to death but living the life she´d lived the last years, constantly being on the run, she knew human-nature in general not to be that kind.

When looking at the brown, bed-side table at her side Kasumi noticed something that immediately caught her attention.

The blond, elegant woman with the white smile that didn´t quit seem to reach her blue eyes on the photograph could have been recognized by the former kuniochi anywhere.

"Helena Douglas" she mumbled "what on earth is it you want with me?"

_._

"Damn!" Hayate thought to himself. He really had no idea about where to go from here and he could have given one of his arms up knowing if his sister was even still in Japan. "I´m such a pathetic man" he thought once again.

Hayate looked at his watch, it was almost 07.00 PM and all he´d accomplished so far was stating once again to himself that he had no trace to go on when it came to Kasumi. And oh! He´d also managed in getting two drinks down his throat in the bloody bar where he was sitting. Hayate knew better then anyone drinking was not gonna help but he was just so frustrated right now he´d do anything to calm his nerves.

"I´m gonna have to get another one" Hayate muttered as he wiped the sweat of his forehead.

Despite his role as the mugen-tenshin clan-leader and the many tough situations that work included Hayates nerves had always been and still was a rather sensitive matter. His way of dealing with stress was to express it mildly in-constructive and if things went the slightest way out of plan his emotions ran wild. And this, trying to handle a matter completely out of his control was just one such situation.

Hayate was just walking towards the disk to get a third one when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Not a good idea" a calm manly voice said.

Hayate turned around, looking in disbelief at the man with the long, white hair and the unobtrusive brown eyes.

"If you´re not used to it, you shouldn´t drink it as if it though it was water" the man said.

"What...? Hayate starred at his former opponent, "what are you… doing here"

Brad Wong shrugged his shoulders giving one of his usual untroubled smiles.

"Strolling around" the drunk said "like I usually do, and you?" he frowned eyeing the ninja from head to toe "what are you doing outside your village. Have you switched place with your sister"?

At this Hayate was ready to blast out at the white hair. There really were no boundaries to the other mans rudeness speaking of Hayates family-situation that way?

"Have a nice evening Wong" Hayate said instead giving one of his polite though icy smiles.

The ninja was about to turn around and walk away when the other man put his hand on his shoulder again.

"Wait!" the drunk, frowned again looking almost thoughtful "are you lost or something?"

Hayate looked at the white haired man for a long time. He just couldn´t believe this guy! One moment Brad Wong acted completely careless and the next one as if though he actually pretended to care about something else then the half drunken glass in his hand.

"What does it matter to you?" Hayate said after a moment.

Brad Wong looked back at Hayate with a expression in his face that looked unusually intelligent for him.

"Well" he said after a while "let´s say I think I know what you´re looking for".

"Really?" Hayate said calmly "then you´ll be pretty disappointed when you´ll find out it´s not a drinking buddy"

If Brad´d heard the sarcasm in this he didn´t pretend so.

"And you´ll be pretty disappointed to found out Kasumi´s no longer here in Japan"

Hayate starred mute at the other man before realizing it.

"You know where she is?" he whispered.

"Not the specific location" Brad said thoughtfully "but let´s say I know you´re definitely wasting your time dwelling here burying yourself in sake"

"As if that comes from the right mouth" Hayate said calmly.

Even though Hayate usually tried to put himself over these kind of remarks that were only used for the simple purpose of degrading his opponent he really felt as if though he couldn´t help them. He was tired, frustrated and more affected by the alcohol then he thought and Brad… Brad was just being a plain, inconsiderate drunk as usual.

"Good evening, Hayate-sama" Brad Wong gave a polite and strangely graceful smile before turning his back towards Hayate.

"Wait!" the ninja called out.

Brad Wong turned around looking calmly, even indifferently at his former opponent.

"I´m sorry for the rudeness" Hayates eyes begged for attention "but I… I really need to find my sister and I just can´t waste my time on empty words. Brad Wong, if you know where Kasumi is please tell me cause I, he looked the other man straight into the eyes, cause I really need to find her!"

Brad stood quiet for a while, his facial expression acceptant though indifferent.

"Come with me" he said "you need a place to rest for the night. If you still want the same thing tomorrow we´ll find a solution to your problem".

_._

Helena took a deep breath. It´d felt as if though she´d never get home from work today and as if though walking in the cold winter would take forever. Finally standing outside her door putting the key in the lock the former mistress of DOATEC thought about the nice long bath she´d take.

But the second she opened the door, her feeling of peace disappeared.

"What the...!" Helena stopped herself since she couldn´t bring herself to curse no matter how angry or surprised she was.

Her wooden floor was drenched in soap as well as her radiant light blue wallpapers with yellow and white flowers on as well as the paintings hanging there.

"Mon dieu" the French woman whispered starring wide eyed at the disaster that was once her hall. She wanted to scream but her controlled nature just couldn´t bring her to it.

"It´s okey" she told herself "it´s okey". She walked on her toes over the soaked floors not to get wet. If she´d been shocked when seeing the hall it was nothing comparing to what she was when seeing the kitchen.

The floor was drenched in flour and the induction cooker hardly visible thanks to the brown and slight transparent mess laying over it.

Suddenly Kasumi appeared in front of Helena, her hair tucked into a white scarf, wearing one of Helenas white aprons. Her eyes looked innocently and somewhat confused at the opera-singer.

"Since you were gone the whole day" she said "I took the freedom to clean up the apartment and make some cake".

_._

"So you will really do this?" Miyuki looked at her daughter who was packing her bag in silence.

"Yes I will" Kokoro said packing down another skirt.

Miyuki sighed. She´d seen her daughter go threw a big change the last year. It seemed the tournament she´d participated in had made her turn from a somewhat insecure girl to a real woman. The otherwise always smiling and giggly Kokoro had turned into a serious, almost melancholic person who never did anything on a whim anymore. In fact it almost worried Miyuki more then it gave her satisfaction.

"You know I love you, right?" Miyuki said.

"Yes" Kokoro said while folding another shirt putting it into her bag "and I love you to".

"Then why don´t you stay? Don´t you like it here?"

"I can´t really like it anywhere if I´m not at peace" Kokoro said softly. She turned around looking at her mother "the boat to France is going tomorrow at eight o´clock, will you wave me of".

"Of course my daughter" Miyuki nodded.

_._

"So you´re entirely well now?" Helena looked at the red headed girl on the opposite end of the table.

Not being able to revolt against her polite manners Helena had eaten the so called _cake _Kasumi´d baked. The _cake _in question had been a hybrid between a sponge cake and a litre of jelly with chocolate, honey, milk, to many eggs, strawberries, blueberries and ingredients Helena didn´t even want to guess put together in a complete sludge.

Kasumi nodded to her question.

"So you´d be able to walk home?" Helena asked.

It went silent for a while. Helenas long isolation from other human beings had made her somewhat insecure in other social situations then those at the restaurant and she almost immediately regretted what she´d said.

"I have no home" Kasumi whispered after a while, her large brown eyes growing even larger.

Helena once again wanted to scream. What on earth had she ever done that was so evil she deserved this?

"I have no job" the runaway ninja said slowly "so I can´t really make a living".

Helena was about to faint on the floor. Seriously! Kasumi had no home, no job, probably not even money and since Helena had been the one saving her in the first place, it´d be nothing but her duty to keep the little imp alive.

Helena saw her water-soaked floors and paintings, her flour filled kitchen and Kasumis so called _cake _in front of her once again.

"I need to go to bed" Helena said "we will discuss this further tomorrow. Thanks for the cake" she looked at the complete monster on the plate on the center of the table before rising from her chair.

"This one was actually pretty tasty" Kasumi said after Helena´d left "maybe I should make a recipe for it".

She cut up another piece of the sponge cake with a smile on her lips.

**AN: Yup! There you have your next chapter. If you want another on keep reviewing. And as I´ve said in earlier chapters I am hardcore sure about "some" pairings (three couples to be exact) but it wouldn´t be fun if I revealed them now, would it P:)? So just keep send me suggestions to your fav pairings (preferably of characters you´ve seen interacting or want to interact later on in this fic).**

**And if you have a idea to a story and can´t post it cause you haven´t signed up. What are you waiting for? Sign the f#ck up! We really need some variation in this section, especially when it comes to pairings and especially, mind you on the yaoi-side. No! "Man on man" isn´t disgusting! Not even in the DOA-section!**

**Nuff said! Love you for your support "throws kisses at you" and will love you even more if you review "smiles". Bye for now!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hi! So I´m back again (despite the lack of reviews for chapter four "pouts") **

**Ryu: Didn´t you get any reviews?**

**Dragemenian jew: Not a single one. Do you think they thought it was that bad? "Looks around with concerned facial expression".  
**

**Ryu: I´m sure it´s not that bad... I guess it was just. Anyway! Let´s get to the story!**

"_**That mysterious thing called Caller-ID"**_

Ryu sighed as he put the vases in order on the new shelf he´d bought. It seemed lately his curio-shop had been more popular then ever, plenty of people wanting to sell their old things to him, plenty of customers coming to bye them for even higher prizes. But it wasn´t the same. Not without her…

Irene wouldn´t come back the super ninja´d told himself. They´d had a proper divorce and she´d moved out of their common apartment almost three years ago, in fact almost since the beginning of the second DOA-tournament. Why couldn´t he let it go, Irene obviously had?

He heard the windlass as the door was opened behind him.

Ryu sighed inwards, did he really have to be polite to customers right now? But as he turned around facing the old couple he had the same smile glued to his lips that he always showed towards "the real world".

"Can I help you with something?" he asked.

_._

"But I can´t see how it works!" Tina whined.

Tina and Hitomi had been walking around in the Technic-store about a hour and Hitomi was ready to strangle her friend. It didn´t matter how long or how detailed Hitomis explanations were for Tina always seemed to see a problem in everything.

For crying out loud! What part of plugging something into the wall and connect it to her phone didn´t she understand?

"But this is a big change in my life" Tina exclaimed, twisting her hands.

"To get a Caller-ID?" Hitomi gave the blond a meaningful look.

"But you don´t understand" Tina protested "I barely know how to take deal with my X-box, what if it just blows up when I´m not at home?"

"It won´t" Hitomi said for about the tenth time this day "you sometimes forget turning your TV of before you leave, you´re not worried about it blowing up".

"But that´s another thing! I´m _used to _the TV"

And it was about there Hitomi stopped listening. She looked over the many devices in the store thinking about when on earth she´d have money enough buying a new TV. The image was getting so bad on her old one that if she´d keep it around long enough she´d actually fear it exploding. She smiled at the thought as she turned around facing another direction when she accidentally looked into two blue eyes.

The boy was about her own age, tall and had short black haired. Hitomi starred in amazement at the figure in front of her before she was rewarded with a smile.

"Kawaiiiii" Hitomi thought as she felt the butterflies make their way into her stomach. "Breath" she reminded herself as she finally managed in looking away.

"Hitomi!" Tina whined next to her "you know I´m terrible with changes. Hitomi!" Tina tried to catch her friends gaze "are you listening?"

"Oh" Hitomi said when remembering where she was "yeah! You´re terrible with changes!"

Hitomi regretted her answer immediately when seeing the offended expression on Tinas face.

"Do you ladies need any help?"

Hitomi turned around facing the owner of the soft tenor voice that spoke in such a pure British accent. When she looked into those blue eyes again a faint blush spread over her cheeks.

"Yes, please!" Tina whined looking at the dark haired man" I´m really completely clueless about this and I really don´t want my house damaged".

Some of the irritation Hitomi´d felt all this day returned to her as she heard Tinas pointless babbling.

"She can´t handle a Caller-ID" Hitomi filled in tiredly.

"Oh" opposite to what Hitomi thought he´d do the young man gave a heart felt smile " that just won´t do."

"No! It really won´t!" Tina said miserably "I want to feel safe when I leave home".

Once again Hitomi felt like pushing that Caller-ID up the prow wrestlers throat. Could Tina ever be rational about things?

"Then my lady" the guy gave a amused, though friendly smile "I´m gonna explain something to you about callers-ID:s" when he talked his eyes met Hitomis for a breef moment, a somewhat naughty expression on his face.

"Damn him" Hitomi thought to herself as she blushed once again.

The whole time he spoke he was professional, relaxed and pedagogic at the same time but Hitomi couldn´t really hear what he said because she was to busy looking at his filled lips moving. Those features were so fine, yet so manly, and one could tell from his slim though muscular form that he exercised a lot.

"Are you thinking about getting a Caller-ID?"

"Do I…? Oh!" Hitomi said as she found out those beautiful blue eyes were fixed completely on her.

On the badge on his blue t-shirt (that she hadn´t been thinking about til now) she read the name "Alex". So he was working here?

"I already have one" Hitomi said "since a few years back actually and it´s in perfect shape".

"Sure about that?" Alex grinned at her "cause I could give you a discount if you´d want one"

Hitomi starred in silence at him not knowing quit what to say. His eyes were fixed on her, his smile warm and somewhat impish.

"So wich one´s the best?" Tina interrupted the moment.

"I´d say…" Alex started and once again Hitomi was to busy watching him to hear the rest of the sentence.

"Alex" she thought "you´re way to pretty to work with technologic-devices".

_._

"Wake up, Christie!" Bayman called out, tapping his roommate on her bare feet "you´re taking up the whole couch".

"Damn it!" Christie rubbed her eyes, slowly looking around her, finding she´d fallen asleep on the couch with her clothes on "damn it, Bay! Why didn´t you wake me up? What are you smiling at" she muttered, glaring at Bayman.

Bayman grinned at his former opponent.

"You really look your best" he said as he looked at her white hair that was now standing in all possible directions.

"What?" Christie frowned looking at him in disbelief.

"Excellent work with the hair" Bayman teased "are you going for _wild and free _today?

Christie went up from the couch walking into the hall where a mirror was situated.

"Oh, shit!" she called out when noticing her less then flattering hair-style "you´re so dead Bay for not waking me up".

Bayman only smiled to himself from where he sat in the now empty couch with his feet over the arm rest. Christie on a bad hair-day was hard to out match!

"Give me some room" Christie commended as she entered the living room, tapping on the soles of his feet.

Bayman shrugged his shoulders, still grinning to himself as he took his legs down from the arm rest allowing Christie to sit down next to him.

"What´s on TV today?" she asked.

"I don´t know" Bayman said "various talk-shows, I don´t know… a documentary on Discovery" he looked at Christie "nothing that we won´t fall asleep watching anyway".

"What do you say?" Christie says "shall we dare leave the apartment or do you think we´ll perish to dust in the sun?"

"There are no guarantees" Bayman raised a eyebrow "but comparing to this" he threw a glance at the TV "perishing to dust doesn´t sound that bad".

"True" Christie nodded.

_._

"Aaaaaaaaah" the young man yelled out in pain as he was thrown to the math by the long haired, bearded, titan.

"And that´s how it´s done!" Bass said triumphantly as he ended the throw "you can´t function as a wrestler before you loose the fear of getting hurt".

His young student didn´t seem to listen for he was to busy grabbing his hurt leg moaning. Bass turned to the rest of his class.

"So that was your lesson for today" he said "now remember the throws and the locks but above all, this "you can´t function as a wrestler before you loose the fear of getting hurt". See you all next friday".

Bass sighed as the young men left the room. There were no wrestlers of the old caliber these days.

The only people taking wrestling-classes these days were soft cheeked, kids, who´d hardly left puberty that wanted to show the girls "how cool they were". But all they did once getting here was standing in the other end of the math, shunning all physical contact.

Bass picked up his sports-bag going out of the hall. "Maybe I am to hard on them" he thought to himself. After all no one could truly measure up to his favorite student.

"Stop thinking about her, you old fool" he thought to himself "she´s not gonna call more cause she´s constantly blocking your mind".

Tina! The best student he´d ever had despite her vanity and obsession with what other people thought of her.

Despite the fact she practically wore the same kind of clothes that she now wore on stage when in the ring she threw herself heads first into the battle seemingly without any fear of damaging them or dirtying them down.

In the DOA-tournament she threw hooks and uppercuts as if though she didn´t care about the fact she´d manicured her nails the night before and Bass would never forget how bravely she´d fought against the Tengu despite the fact she didn´t posess the ninjas skills in spells and magic.

Bass couldn´t help smiling. Tina´d always known what she wanted and the fact she´d have to fight ancient demons to get it didn´t seem to bother her. Although she hadn´t managed in beating the Tengu she´d given it a tough match and managed in damaging it enough to get away from the fight with her life.

"You always were a brave girl" Bass said to himself.

But enough thought about her! Bass had to catch the buss for the next class he was going to hold at a gym a few miles away. Practicing the throws in his head he left for the locker room.

_._

"I hate the winter!" Christie muttered as she nearly slipped on a icy spot well hidden under the snow "so what do you think?" she turned to Bayman "do you think "The malevolent four eye" will let us of the hook this evening".

"Don´t count on it" Bayman gave her a meaningful glance "and if we´ll ask, he´ll make up more things for us to do just for the sake of plain evil".

"Yeah, you´re right" Christie sighed "getting to go a bit earlier from work is like going a round against Alpha 152".

"Did you fight her?" Bayman looked at her.

"Nope" Christie shrugged her shoulders "but she was rumored to be a royal pain in the ass".

"Like Genra?" Bayman shook his head remembering how he´d barely escaped with his life after meeting said monster.

"She´s way faster" Christie raised a eyebrow "at least Zack told me so".

"Wow" Bayman grinned at his roommate "I didn´t think you liked him".

"I don´t" Christie said matter of factly "but that didn´t stop him from talking to me".

"Yeah" Bayman raised a eyebrow "I kinda get what you mean".

They exchanged a look in consort. For loners like them, people like Zack were almost like Alpha 59 were to most people in the DOA-tournament. Making him stop talking was like trying to make the earth stand still and shunning him… good luck with that!

"Hey!" Christie exclaimed "when did that get here?" she pointed towards a small store to her right.

"What on earth is that?" Bayman raised a eyebrow.

The small, wooden house with the black roof and the Japanese signs certainly, stuck out among the dull, concrete buildings, with the dark windows.

"It must be new" Bayman said "cause I havn´t seen it before".

"Or maybe we just don´t abandon the TV that much" Christie gave him a meaningful look.

"True" Bayman nodded.

They stood quiet for a while.

"Shall we?" Christie looked at Bayman.

_._

Ryu closed the door around him to his private office. After having spoken to about twelve people in one hour, his mind was more then exhausted.

Irene had usually been the one doing the talking in the old days, the good old days.

He sat down on his chair taking a deep breath. The super ninja had never really been a people person and granted his true profession and background it hadn´t really been strange.

A ninja were not to get involved in the earthly life, was not to love, not to have more then shallow acquaintances since feelings towards other human-beings could distract him from his true purpose.

Even his best friend Hayate had only been someone he´d hardly ever spoken to other then when it came to most un personal matters like the secret missions they were sometimes sent out on, fishing and on rare occasions even the weather.

The only one safe for Irene he´d actually had a close relation to had been Hayates little sister Kasumi, who´d even been like his own little sister.

"I sure hope she´s well" the ninja thought as he remembered the fact he hadn´t spoken to her since then.

Truth to say Ryu hadn´t been on a "mission" ever since the last tournament´d ended since it seemed that with Doatecs death all other kind of danger had died as well.

The young ninja who´d been busy way to long risking his life, going to strange places he´d never seen and dealing with seemingly unsolvable riddles who had longed for this day, in fact ever since he was first known as the super ninja now found that the only thing it´d ever given him was to much time on his hands.

_._

"What on earth are these!" Christie starred in disbelief at the wooden chairs, the colorful vases and the variations of porcelain standing strictly arranged on the shelves as she and Bayman entered the small shop.

"Chairs, vases and porcelain, obviously" Bayman said matter of factly.

"I see that!" Christie rolled eyes at him "but why on earth would people want to waste time on this?" she exclaimed, frowning "collecting it, selling it, buying it even looking at it is time wasting! I mean…", the white haired woman starred in fascination at a blue vase with white flowers on "this one has to be… I don´t know… like two hundred years old! Why would anyone want to waste time on things that are way past their best-before date?"

"That´s why they´re called antiques".

Bayman and Christie turned around immediately when hearing the soft voice. Could it really be...?

"If you´d read the signs outside" Ryu said calmly as he went out of the office to stand behind the disk "you´d known this is a antique store and people that can´t appreciate the true value of things really shouldn´t be here".

Bayman starred at the man with the long, dark blond, almost golden hair and the sparkling, green eyes.

"What are the odds?" he thought "for him to actually be here in the US in the same part of the city as me and Christie".

"What are the odds?" Christy thought as she looked at the young ninja " Doatec burnt to the ground, tournament over forever and for one to still bump into annoying, way to mature for their ages mister I-know-everything brats one´d thought one´d never have to see again".

"All of us don´t happen to read Japanese" Christie said with the attitude that´d her kicked out from three jobs during her six months after the tournament "and thing is some of us happen to value things that actually matters way to much to waste time on things that should have been considered history and buried under ground centuries ago" she looked at Bayman for support (considering their common life-styles and the time they´d spent together he´d surely be with her on this) when noticing he was starring straight at the reason for her annoyance.

"I wonder how on earth he got that color on his eyes" Bayman thought as he looked into the green eyes "I mean… they´re obviously green, but for eyes to be _that _green".

"And since some of us obviously knows what matters" Christie glared at the ninja "some of us really don´t have to be here. Come on, Bayman!" she pulled Bayman by the sleeve.

"What am I doing?" Bayman thought to himself when suddenly realizing where he really was. He tore his gaze immediately from Ryus looking at his roommate who´s eyes said nothing but "come with me or I´ll stab you".

"See you!" Christie said to the ninja before turning around walking with quick steps out of the store.

Anyone´d seen the British, former assassin´d believed she was just being her arrogant, indifferent self but Bayman who´d lived with her for six months knew more then well that wasn´t the case.

Christie only gave that walk when "The malevolent four-eye" had offended her one time to many. What on earth hade made her make this walk this time Bayman couldn´t even guess but he knew one thing and that was that he had to get her home before she started a fight.

"I´m so sorry about her" Bayman locked eyes with Ryu before doing something he hardly ever did other when he felt forced to not loosing his job.

As his eyes seemingly without his will lingered into the ninjas green he actually felt as if though Ryu smiled back.

Bayman felt a strange, warm, tingling feeling evolve in his stomach before following Christie out of the store.

_._

"Did he actually _apologize _to me" Ryu thought as he starred after the door closing behind Bayman.

That Christie´d act like a ignorant, arrogant, jerk who couldn´t stand for the fact she was the one wrong in this had been expected but for Bayman to actually…

And he´d smiled, hadn´t he? A smile that didn´t seem faked or glued to his face. And Ryu´d smiled back… and meant it?

How long since Ryu´d actually _meant _a smile?

The ninja shook his head. Christie and Bayman visiting his store had been nothing but a coincidence and _considering_ Christies reaction they weren´t likely to come by again and for Bayman to _smile _again…

"And what on earth does it mean to me whether he smiles or not" Ryu thought to himself "he´s nothing but a shallow acquaintance who´d only deliberately seek me up if he´d got a mission to kill me".

In fact Ryu´d had many such _acquaintances _and he really didn´t need another one but still, what a genuine and cute smile!

Saying Ryu didn´t think about Irene anymore that day would have been a lie but something that was certain was she was no longer the only thing filling his mind.

_._

"And all the buttons!" Tina exclaimed in horror "what if I manage in pushing the wrong one and just… getting the whole thing to implode from inside".

Tina had uttered that sentence at least twenty times though in creative variations all the way home from the technique-store and used a vocabulary Hitomi didn´t think she had.

"It´ll be alright" Hitomi said for about well… the twentieth time, now running out of creative variations to put it differently.

But truth to say Hitomi wasn´t really that absorbed by the conversation anymore. "I wonder what times Alex works. I wonder if he´ll still be at the store when I finish school tomorrow". How old could he be? Just a few years older, much older then her? And god, that cute British accent? Was he foreign just like Hitomi?

"God I´m so ridiculous"! Tina exclaimed "I can´t even handle my X-box".

Hitomi closed her eyes as she thought about the way that boy´d smiled at her today, and his eyes… such blue color!

"Hitomi!" Tina yelled "are you listening to me?"

Hitomi blinked awakening from her fantasies at once.

"Yes" she said without thinking "you´re ridiculous and can´t handle your X-box".

"Hitomi!"

"Sorry!"

_._

"And with that attitude!" Christie exclaimed "who on earth does he think he is! _The ones that can´t appreciate the true value of things shouldn´t be here" _she imitated with a whiny voice "who the hell does he think he is, thinking he is the only one knowing what truly counts!"

"Christie, it´s two o´clock in the morning" Bayman wanted to say but kept quiet since he knew from experience the only thing it´d result in´d be Christie yelling even louder cause she didn´t feel _respected _and probably wake up half the neighbor-hood in the process.

Truth to say the only thing he wanted was going to bed since they´d just got home from another stressful night at the bar with a even more "malevolent four eye" then usual but to keep it short Christie wasn´t in the mood for sleeping.

"That bloody super-ninja must really think he´s the master of the universe" Christie kept on furiously "I mean… just because people doesn´t enjoy spending time with mindless things that are two thousand years old doesn´t mean they´re ignorant, brainless, idiots! I am twenty times smarter then him so he should just shut that silly, little mouth of his before I smash it in. And believe me I will" Christies eyes were burning "if he ever says something like this again".

Bayman sighed. Fortunately this really happened seldom since Christie was a rather laidback individual but once it did she was like a cd on constant replay.

"But if you think you´re twenty times smarter then Ryu…" Bayman started.

"I am!" Christie snapped out "and no one´s ever gonna prove me differantly!

"Yeah" Bayman thought to himself "how many did you have?" Would really have been the right question for this moment"

Christie in affect was one thing but Christie in affect after to many beers...

"But if you are" Bayman kept on "then why are you so angry. Why do you even care?"

"I don´t!" Christie protested "I just think he´s rude!"

Truth to say Christie hadn´t been speaking about the Ryu-incident the whole day before the return home from the bar and Bayman suspected the beers she´d managed in drinking when her boss wasn´t watching, had played a rather crucial part in this.

"Okey" Bayman said calmly "but since he is and you´re smart can we just drop this issue. You don´t want to be as immature as Ryu, do you?"

Bayman knew there was simply one way to deal with Christie when she acted like this and it was not called "the truth".

It went silent for a while, Christie looking with blank eyes at him.

"Damn" Bayman thought troubled to himself "she really shouldn´t drink".

"I´m not as immature as Ryu" she muttered after a while "and now I´m going to bed. Good night" she said, stumbling towards the bedroom.

Bayman drew a sigh of relief. Yeah, everything worked with Christie as long as it was not called "truth"!

"I guess I have to go to the curio-shop alone then" he thought to himself. And saying he didn´t think that thought with a warm, tingling, feeling in his stomach would have been a lie.

**AN: So here we go with the little sweet, thing called disclaimer. The OC called Alex is NOT mine. He belongs to my friend DOAEliot 4 and yes, he gave his premission. **

**So now... if you all managed in staying awake during the chapter (it was my longest one hitherto, lol) you know at least one of my pairings.**

**Ayane exclaims: I still don´t have a match-up!**

**Jann Lee: Neither have I! Everyone calls me a jerk "sobs".**

**Kasumi "looks with wide eyes at the audience": Who should I date?**

**Dragemenian jew "sighs": As you see we have a major issue here so will you please help me with the matchmaking. How? Easy! Just go up on my profile and click on the pull furthest up. When you´ve done that vote for the two pairings you want in this story. And tada! Issue solved "smiles" not that hard, is it?**

**Tina "mutters": I´m not affraid of Caller-ID:s**

**Dragemenian Jew "sighs": Tina it´s just a story. Anyhow "turns back to the audience" as you see I´ve got issues to sort out here so see you in the next chapter!  
**

**And review please. Pretty please! My creativity needs it XD!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Elliot? Elliot? Where are you? **

**Elliot: I´m here! Why?**

**Dragemenian jew: Good! Cause there was a certain reviewer asking when you´d show up!**

**Elliot *frowns*: I´ve been here all the time.**

**Dragemenian jew *smiles*: Good! Cause it´s your chapter now.  
**

"_**A touch of the old times?"**_

"Way better" Gen fu complimented as his young apprentice managed in evading yet another one of his strikes "you´re way more focused then last time".

With improved confidence Elliot increased the speed of his feet almost managing in delivering a straight to his masters chest. Elliot aimed another strike at his masters head when his arm was grabbed, a hand placed under his stomach and he was thrown into the air.

Elliot was just about to rise and make another attack when loud applause was heard. When turning around to face the intruders of their Dojo the master and the apprentice sighed in unison.

Though they both knew more then well that China was Lei fang and Jann Lees homeland as well as Gen fus they hadn´t expected them to turn up in their part of town, in their Dojo.

Although Elliot hadn´t spent much time with the other contestants he thought very little of the two standing in the opening to the Dojo. Of everyone participating in the DOA-tournament these two seemed to be the ones with the least purpose, two unserious people only there to prove to everyone they were aces at delivering punches.

Even the blond diva called Tina even though Elliot´d never thought highly of her either had had a goal with her participation even though it had been for something as simple as playing electric guitar on the TV.

"Greetings" Lei fang giggled with a large smile on her face, her hair put up in her familiar buns.

"Jann Lee, Lei fang", Gen fu frowned "what brings you here"?

Jann Lee and Lei fang smiled at each other exchanging a look, Lei fang looking like a delighted little girl.

"Master" Jann Lee said with a respectful bow "we desire to train with you".

Elliot thought he was about to faint when hearing the last words. Jann Lee and Lei fang, the two punching-machines, train with _him?_

"But my children" Gen fu said equally respectfully "your fighting-styles are completely different from mine".

"But we can still all practice sparring" Lei fang shouted enthusiastically "you know… to bring back the old days!"

Elliot tried to catch his masters gaze. A old, sensible man like Gen fu should really see the wrong in this! These two were "punch-mashers", people that had no understanding in the deeper meaning of martial-arts, letting them in would be a violation to everything Gen fu´d ever taught out.

"Welcome in" Gen fu said after a while.

Elliot sighed inwards thinking this´d be a loooong lesson.

_._

Ayane sighed as she walked back and forth outside her house. Being a village-leader had been a easier job then she´d thought, since all the disasters with kidnapped leaders, evil intruders and cruel organizations had been taken out of the picture but still harder then anything she´d ever done before.

Ayane was used to having things happening around her and if not, always having her half-brother by her side to calm her. But now she was alone, with nearly nothing to do but hoping that her brother´d come home soon with her sister…

Yes, she actually hoped for him to bring her sister home. Her annoying older sister, whom she´d missed more then she´d expected to.

She sat down dipping her foot in the clear blue lake near the grey rocks. The lilac haired kuniochi couldn´t hold back a smile as she remembered how she and the red haired vixen had run around bare-feet at the very same place nearly ten years ago. Those innocent years when they´d still been to young to hate, still been to young to realize such words as jealousy and spite existed.

"Those were times" Ayane thought as she leant her head back, closing her eyes into the warming sun "those were times".

Would she ever get the chance to tell her sister this? Would she ever get the chance to tell her that she was sorry? Yes, she was sorry!

Ayane sighed again thinking about her and Kasumis long fishing-trips when they were little girls, their walks around the lake.

"I won´t have this" she said after thinking about it for a while, her eyes radiating with the same resoluteness as when making the decision to enter the DOA-tournament "I simply won´t have this".

_._

"Woooohoooo!" Jann Lee called out as he kicked at Elliots head.

Elliot blocked his kick almost managing in looking at the watch in the process. He so didn´t feel comfortable with this, he was bothered, irritated and wished nothing more then returning to his nagging mother in England and his hyperactive little sister. At least her punches weren´t hard as rocks!

"Wooohaaaa!" Elliot blocked another one of Jann Lee´s powerful strikes.

He finally managed in looking at the watch, another minute before this idiocity was over.

He blocked, gave half hearted efforts to strikes, soon, soon over! Only seconds left finally three, two, one and then…

"Let´s make a switch!"

Oh no! Elliot wouldn´t have needed to get punched to be knocked out. He turned around looking into the smiling face of Lei fang.

"Now I want to fight Elliot" her brown eyes met Elliots blue as she giggled excitedly.

It went silent for a while, Elliot wishing more then ever he´d never signed up for the damn tournament. His first opponent meant trouble and his future one´d mean even more trouble judging from the look in her eyes. The same look he´d seen in her eyes whenever she´d prepared for a new match.

It went silent for a while Elliot looking at his master "please say it´s over, please say it´s over and that we need to take a time-off. Or even better say you don´t have time for this".

"Yes we can make a switch if you want" Gen fu shrugged his shoulders giving a smile.

Bam! Knock out again! Elliot felt the notion hitting him again like one of Hitomis uppercuts. He was… doomed!

As the monster with the black buns, the blue satin tunic and the white pants came to stand in front of him barring her shining, white fangs and her red well polished claws locking her brown, predatory eyes in his, he knew one thing. His days of peace were counted!

"So let us begin then" she said.

Elliot threw the first punch that was easily blocked by the Chinese girl. She threw a kick at him, Elliot dodging easily.

"Come on!" Lei fang said with a smile "you aren´t holding back cause I´m a girl are you?"

No! Elliot definitely wasn´t holding back cause she was a _girl_! Judging by the assassin Christies hard, fast as machine gun bullets punches women were as least as tough fighters as men and needless to say, he had lost that fight.

As Lei fang threw her next strike at him he caught her wrist in his hand, pushing his shoulder against her back. He could feel her soft body against his for a breef moment before throwing her to the floor.

As he´d expected she rose up quickly again throwing a triple kick in mid air at his face. He managed to block but wasn´t quick enough to avoid the foot, hitting his.

The pain made him distracted enough to allow Lei fang to throw a straight into his face, grabbing his wrist, her palm hitting him in the chest.

But being the experienced fighter he was Elliot quickly recovered throwing a straight kick into her stomach. As Lei fang counterattacked with yet another high round house he grabbed her foot, flipping her over.

"You´ve grown stronger!" Lei fang grinned making Elliot somewhat more irritated as she almost managed in tripping him when throwing out one of her long legs.

But what Elliot hadn´t been prepared for had been Lei fangs sudden tackle, her arms thrown around him, her chest pressing against his. Even though Elliot´d fought several women in the tournament he´d never been that close to anyone of them, in fact never really to any girl.

He grew stiff all over his body the moment before Lei fang rolled of him.

"Focus on the fight" he thought when rising to his feet. His was just about to make his strike when Gen fus voice interrupted him.

"What if we should cut here!"

"Why?" Lei fang exclaimed (not to Elliots surprise) "we were just getting to the fun part here!"

"My child" Gen fu said polite "fighting with nothing in your throat or stomach doesn´t make your strikes any sharper".

Elliot looked at his master. He was thankful but also somewhat disappointed he´d cut it there. For the last seconds he´d actually felt as if though his passion for martial art´d returned…

"Let´s have some tea!" Gen fu smiled.

"Damn right we should!" Lei yelled out in anticipation "I´m so thirsty I could drink a whole lake".

Elliot looked at Jann Lee who only gave a small smile at this.

"Do you have any black tea?" she looked at Gen fu with her large, energetic eyes.

Elliot was about to faint. Who really did Lei fang think she was? Walking into the Dojo of a praised master expecting him to give her black tea! But to his surprise all Gen fu said was.

"Of course!" the old man gave a broad smile "we have plenty of sorts! Black, red, green".

Elliot just thought about how irritated he was with Lei fang when she turned around smiling at him.

"I´ve heard you´re supposed to be something of a tea-enthusiast!" she said " do you have any particular favorite?".

Without thinking Elliot answered naturally, the first thing that usually came into his mind, the thing he´d missed for almost six months.

"English, breakfast tea!"

_._

Ayane ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Takeshi, Takeshi!" she yelled.

Even though she knew her loyal advisor wouldn´t go anywhere, she felt as if though she couldn´t reach him quick enough. It was important that he got to know, that he got to know right away!

"Takeshi!"

The middle aged man stopped in his steps, turning around with a frown on his already furrowed face. He raised a fuzzy eyebrow.

"Ayane sama" he said.

"I have to ask something very important of you" Ayane said.

"Whatever you want mistress" he bowed.

"Come!" Ayane pulled him by the arm "we have important matters to discuss".

_._

"Yes, but kung fu´s way older!" Lei fang gestured eagerly as she completely slaughtered another peace of chicken.

Lei fang, Jann Lee, Elliot and Gen fu had had lunch for about a hour and Lei fangs appetite was still a mystery to Elliot. During the time they´d been sitting here she´d had five chicken stewers, three cups of rice, one cup of noodles plus multiple liters of tea and somehow managed in talking non-stop the whole time. She´d talked so much in fact Elliot´d lost the thread of the conversation.

"Elliot!"

Elliot woke up with a shiver when hearing his name.

"How about you?" Jann Lee asked.

"About me?" Elliot frowned, giving each face a puzzled look.

"How do you feel about the tournament being over?" Lei fang asked.

Elliot starred at her, frowning all of a sudden. Yes, he´d thought about her question many times over but never expected to answer it like this before, out loud in front of other people.

"Eeeeh…" he jerked his shoulders "I guess it´s… well I… it´s not the same really as before".

Opposite to what he´d expected Lei fang gave him a rather serious look saying softly.

"I know how you feel...".

Elliot frowned. What on earth was with Lei fang? One second she was an over enthusiastic tease intended on knocking him out and the other second… he looked into those brown eyes.

"Aooouch!" Elliot exclaimed as he was seemingly from nowhere snapped on the nose.

"So let´s don´t let it soften you up little boy!" Lei fang grinned again.

"Muppet!" Elliot thought to himself "muppet" was the only word bringing Lei fang justice.

"Well" Lei fang said still grinning as she rose from the table "this´s been fun and it should be even more fun later on!"

_Later on? _Elliot thought to himself, _I´ll pray not!_

"Thank you for the match" Gen fu nodded shaking hands with the two contestants.

"Thanks, for the fight kid!" Jann Lee boxed Elliot on the shoulder before going out.

As Lei fang approached him Elliot prepared himself for getting an irritating remark or even another snap on the nose but as she bent down towards him where he sat in front of the table.

_Maybe she knows how to say goodbye like normal people?_

"Aaaaaaaaah!" Elliot yelled out as he was pinched unfairly hard in the side.

"You have to be ready!" Lei fang grinned "or else...!" she raised a warning finger as she and Jann Lee left the room "til next time Elliot! Remember to always expect the unexpected!" as she gave her carefree smile and big hand wave there were millions of words going on in Elliots head that his well brought up nature prevented him from saying out loud. So well… he´d have to stick with muppet for now!

"Refreshing, don´t you think!" Gen fu gave a broad smile, sighing after the two´d left.

_In the sentence I now value life in a other way, _Elliot thought, _now that I´ve seen death in the eye. _

But if he´d know this wasn´t the only time he did that he´d have these thoughts he´d taken the nearest flight back home to England.

**AN: So what´dya think? Want another chap? Well, review!**

**And guess what?... I still need help figure out the rest of the pairings in this story. So if you´re not signed up and can´t vote on my profile. Vote in your reviews *grins* even more arguments for reviewing... he he.**

**PS. Special thanks to Sissi. I know I´ve kind of matched-up completely opposite to what you´ve hoped for but you really are awesome for looking past that and see the good in the story. Really, FF needs more people like you. **

**And lol, I know exactly how it is to like pairings that never gets written. I mean... Ryu x Bayman and Elliot x Lei fang? How often do you see those on this site?.... I know, that´s why I have to write them myself, lol. And all I ever see in this section is Ryu x Kasumi, Lei fang x Jann Lee, Elliot x Kokoro and Bayman x Christie and non-canon pairings I really don´t think fit. So I totally feel for you Sis! And once again, your awesome for looking past the fact you hate the pairings that I use XD! **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hi! Sorry for the long wait! I´m really glad this is being so appreciated and I really wished that I could update faster. I don´t know if you´ve read my profile but since I´ve been moving I haven´t had time to...**

**Kasumi: That´s no excuse! I have to run from my clan and I still...**

**Dragemenian jew: Update?**

**Kasumi: Errrhm... "looks around for support"**

**Dragemenian jew "smiles triumphantly": Didn´t think so! As far as I´m concerned you don´t even _have _a account on FF.**

**Christie: Actually she has! She´s called...**

**Dragemenian jew: Christie! This is not even your chap, go away! **

**Christie: But I thought...**

**Dragemenian jew: Next is yours, this is Kasumis, so let´s get this chap started!  
**

"_**Recipe for a well cooked disaster**_"

Are you sure you have everything you need?" Miyuki asked Kokoro for about the tenth time the last twenty minutes.

"Yes, mother" Kokoro smiled who never seemed to loose her patience "I checked twice before I left".

Kokoro and her mother were now located at the airport in Tokyo waiting for Kokoros flight. The airport was crowded with people and everyone seemed to be in a terrible hurry.

"You have the allergic pills?" Miyuki asked.

"Yes, mum!" Kokoro sighed, looking tiredly though happily at her dear mother.

"I will miss you, you know!" Miyuki said after a while caressing her daughters face.

"I will miss you to" Kokoro looked her mother deep into the eyes "and you know it!"

The two women hugged, holding each other for a long time.

_._

"What the hell do you mean, not sure!" Hayate shrieked as he and Brad Wong walked back and forth the terminal "you booked the bloody tickets! Shouldn´t you know what damn gate we should be on?"

Most people hearing the volume of Hayates voice would have stepped ten steps back or shielded their ears, but not Brad.

"I know it´s somewhere around here" Brad frowned looking around what could practically include twenty gates.

"Brilliant!" Hayate snapped "sounds like you have precisely everything under control!"

Brad frowned again looking all over the room.

"Well…not exactly everything but I know approximately".

Hayate only snorted as a answer.

_._

"Okey, now you know your orders" Helena commanded "now stay here and don´t move until I tell you to".

"Okey" Kasumi promised with a smile.

"Good" Helena said rather shortly before going out of the kitchen.

She shook her head. Bringing Kasumi to the restaurant may have been a foolish thing to do but remembering what Kasumi´d done last evening Helena´d decided that leaving the girl alone at her place would have been a even more _foolish _thing to do.

She sighed before putting on her usual "greeting the customers smile".

_._

Kasumi looked all over the kitchen where Helena´d left her. All around her the three cooks where busy preparing lunch. What _she _was supposed to be doing here she wasn´t sure but she was thankful Helena hadn´t kicked her out of her house.

"Hello" Kasumi said trying to smile at a older woman who was looking at her.

The grey haired woman threw her daggers before immediately returning to her cooking.

_Obviously I´m not very popular here _she thought as she kept smiling, looking all over the room. _I wonder if they´d be happier if I helped them out, they´re obviously pretty stressed out here. _

Kasumi studied the two men and the two women standing in front of their casrolles preparing different kinds of dishes.

_How hard can it be? _Kasumi looked at salmon boiling and the meat turning warm. _And I have to show Helena-sama my appreciation. She´s going to be real pleased. _

_._

"So, have a nice time then, my girl and be careful" Miyuki said as she hugged her daughter one last time.

"I´ll be home sooner then you´ll expect" Kokoro said softly hugging her back. At least she hoped so.

In this moment standing with her bags in her hands about to enter the gate that´d once again bring her far from her hometown she felt more then ever how much she´d miss her mother.

They had lived together for so long, the two of them with only themselves as company that she really didn´t know how to deal with anyone else.

The two women held each other for a long time before finally letting go.

"I wish you the best of luck my girl" Miyuki said with a smile, "and you know that you can call me whenever you need to".

"I know", Kokoro smiled back, "thanks for your everlasting support".

Miyuki kissed her daughters forehead one last time before saying.

"Go now my daughter before you miss your plane".

"Thank you mum" Kokoro said before running towards the next chapter in her life.

_._

"Faster!" Hayate hissed as he and Brad ran towards the gate.

"Take it easy" the white-haired man muttered, "my legs ache"!

"Not my problem" Hayate snapped, "Aouch! Your bag is hitting my knee!"

"Sorry" Brad mumbled as they ran or well… stumbled towards the gate.

_._

Once sitting in the airplane Kokoro looked out of the window. She couldn´t believe this was going to happen. This was maybe the last time she´d see Tokyo for well… maybe a month or even longer then that!

She closed her eyes. This would be the first time she´d see France in her life and even though she felt sad for leaving her mother she felt a excitement she hadn´t even felt when entering the DOA-tournament.

Just as she made herself ready to pull in the first breath of freedom…

"Watch where you´re going Brad! You´re murdering my knees!"

"I´m so sorry prince Hayate!" a most familiar voice muttered, "if I happen to breath your air!"

"You´re kidding me?" the other even more familiar voice snapped, "I almost missed a plain that could take me to my long lost sister because of you!"

Kokoro starred with wide blue eyes at the man with the long white hair, and the man with auburn hair and furious brown eyes. What on earth were they doing here?

_._

"How was the pie?", Helena smiled as she looked at the elderly woman.

"Delicious", the woman smiled like so many times before.

"Mademoiselle, mademoiselle!", the young brown haired woman called Giselle came running out of the kitchen, her brown eyes wide with fear, "Mademoiselle Helene, you have to come right away! She´s burning up the kitchen!"

_._

"Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Kasumi whined as she starred horrified at the fire spreading it´s way from the frying pan up the walls.

Despite her long ninja training, lessons of survival both in the village and from experience not to say her preparation for life in the DOA-tournament she couldn´t for her life figure out how to rescue herself from the horror called over-fried salmon.

In pure panic Kasumi removed her apron throwing it over the growing flames. Opposite to what was her purpose the fabric only fed the dancing, red and yellow colors even more, forcing her to let go of it in the process.

"Didn´t I tell you NOT to move!" Helena yelled furiously, running in threw the door.

"Helena!" Kasumi starred at the former mistress of Doatec, "I only wanted to…"

"I don´t have time!" Helena shoved the girl roughly aside, poring out the water that was in her bucket smothering the fire back.

"Helena-sama has been so good to me this whole time", Kasumi looked at the blond woman who now had a most resigned expression in her face, "so I wanted to do something back. That´s why I..."

"You know what?", Helena interrupted, "you´ve done enough for today, go home and sleep", she smiled though her smile didn´t reach her eyes, "It´s okey, really! Please don´t do _anything _else!"

Kasumi starred in surprise at the other woman for a while.

"Really," Helena said, "it´s okey!"

It went quiet for a long time before Kasumi turned around, taking her jacket and walked out of the room.

Helena drew a deep sigh as she sat down on the chair. If it was from resignation or relief she didn´t know.

_._

Ayane sighed. Leaving her place as a leader of the Mugen-tenshin clan had been easier then she thought. In fact it´d been even unfairly easy. _Easier then for Kasumi anyways!_

A sting of bad conscience struck the lilac haired ninja as she made her way threw the crowded streets of Tokyo the very place Kasumi´d had to pay for with her peace of mind to reach.

_Why did I blame her so much? _

If Ayane hadn´t been the controlled ninja she was she´d broken down and cried by now. Really, she missed her childhood friend and sister so much and she didn´t even know if Kasumi was still…

Ayane wiped the unwelcome thought away. Kasumi had always made it threw somehow, she always had, she always would.

Even though she had no idea about where to look or where her brother´d gone for that matter she found all this better then just sitting in the village "waiting". At least she was doing something now!

She went to the white house at her right ringing the doorbell. She at least knew one person that´d be able to help her.

_._

"Will you stop chewing so loud!" Hayate snapped at the white haired disaster next to him.

As if though it hadn´t been enough Brad´d nearly lost their tickets, almost taken them to the wrong gate and killed Hayates knees with his, old, moth bitten green bag he had to sit here, chewing out loud on… peanuts.

_Damn I hate this guy! _Hayate clenched his fists as he watched Brad munching on the open peanut bag, the crumbs decorating his relaxed, way to smiling face.

"Hayate do you know if they sell champagne here?"

"_**You are not having any champagne!**_" Hayate yelled a little to loud.

Well, loud enough for the passengers around him to turn their gazes towards their row.

_._

_And there goes my peace of mind and my eardrums. _Kokoro frowned as she turned around facing the reason for her sudden urge to make the pilot turn around and take her back to Tokyo. Seriously! Two more hours of this and she´d jump of the plane.

If she hadn´t recognized the voice so well, she wouldn´t have believed it. Was it Hayate standing there pointing furiously at Brad Wong?

"I am done with you!" Hayate yelled, "you are the most irresponsible, idiotic, lazy…"

Kokoro rose to her feet walking towards the two contestants. As she tapped Hayate on the shoulder she put on her most polite smile.

"Long time no see", she said.

_._

"Hello! Anybody there, anybody there?" Ayane yelled pounding on the door.

Ayane sighed. Maybe he hadn´t come home yet.

"Mr Wong has gone away for some time?"

Ayane turned around facing the small, elder woman with the red coat.

"Gone away?" Ayane frowned.

"Yes", the woman sighed, "this morning".

Damn! Ayane always seemed to have the best of luck. _Maybe there´s some truth in this bad karma thing after all. _

"He left with some auburn haired man", the woman sighed, "a man who said he was looking for his sister".

Ayanes heart beat quickly.

"Do you know where they went".

"I think they were going to the USA", the woman frowned, "at least Mr Wong told me so".

_Then United States here I come. _"Thank you", Ayane said.

_._

Kasumi sighed as she walked back and forth into Helenas big house. She knew well she had displeased the other woman but not what she had to do to make her happy again.

Cleaning was definitely out of the question it seemed as well as baking. Would she even be allowed to stay this night?

She sat down on the couch trying to forget the events of this day.

_._

"So you´re looking for another contestant to?" Kokoro said with a smile as she sat opposite to Brad and Hayate.

The plane hade finally landed after a rocky and not so pleasant ride. Kokoro seriously didn´t know if the blocks on her ears were caused by the trips or Hayates constant yelling at Brad. What on earth was up with these two?

"Yes, you could say that!" Hayate muttered, "but certain people here are more preventing then helping!" he sent a glare in Brads direction that the drunk didn´t seem to notice.

"And who are you looking for pretty little thing?"

Kokoro looked at the grinning drunk and shrugged her shoulders.

"Helena-sama", she said.

Hayate frowned.

"And what should does she have to do with you?

Kokoro thought for a while before answering. Bonds were holy to her, no matter witch ones and until she found someone who wouldn´t desecrate them she´d keep her mouth shut.

"Last tournament she said I needed to learn her techniques", Kokoro said without lying.

"So that´s the way it is?" Hayate shrugged his shoulders.

It went silent for a while.

"Since I suppose you guys don´t really have a place to stay, Kokoro looked at the two men with another smile, "would you like to come with me to my aunts hotel here in Paris!"

"Of course we´d like to..!" Brad started saying when receiving a elbow in the side from Hayate.

"Brad! It´s not polite to...!"

"Elbow people in their kidneys, no!" Brad muttered, "I guess we have to wait for mister prince of Japans permission first", he said to Kokoro.

"Really Hayate, it´s okey!" Kokoro chuckled, "Miki welcomes _any _guests".

It went silent for a while again.

"Then I guess it´s okey", Hayate replied finally, giving a deep sigh, "it´s not like this lazy man´s thought of it anyway!"

"I´m not…!"

"No you´re not", Kokoro agreed, "and now that it´s decided, let´s go to the hotel".

She rose from her chair, the men exchanging a rather confused glance before going after her.

_._

Helena sighed as she entered the house. She´d thought of this the whole day and she´d finally made her decision. No matter how she hated doing this, this madness just couldn´t proceed any longer. To her relief she didn´t find any "surprises" when opening the door.

The hall, the corridors, the kitchen. Everything was exactly the way she´d left it.

But when she entered the living-room she starred mute at the red haired figure putting on the torn blue jacket she´d arrived in.

"Kasumi are you..?"

"Don´t worry", the girl gave a smile that didn´t quit reach her eyes, "I´ll find a place!"

"But it´s freezing cold and that jacket don´t even..."

"Sorry to have bothered you", the young girl said, "thank you so much for your help".

Helena sighed as the girl left the room. She hadn´t needed to say it.

But as the door was opened Helena heard herself say:

"Wait! You don´t have to go! I think I have something that you could…"

_What am I doing? _Helena thought. But it was already to late. Her word flow had already started.

**AN: Yup! Here you have it. What´dya think? Want me to proceed? Well review!**

**And guess what? I´m still not sure about all the pairings, not sure wich relationships I should turn into friendships or you know... more Love dovey. Please tell me in your reviews if you have opinions about that and in the next chap you´ll see the third pairing I´m hardcore sure of. **

**PS. Aha! So Guest and Sissi is the same person D:) Nice to hear you enjoy both my stories and really hope you´ll enjoy them even more in the future. And totally get what you´re saying about pairings "growing on you". I never thought I could like Ryu x Ayane but I totally do! (Though not as much as other match ups involving these two). Anyway, glad you like this! Bye for now!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hi! Guess who´s back from France! Finally, FINALLY, I´ll give you, your next chap. **

**Gen fu *snorts*: Typically young people. No sense of sense of responibility at all. All they wanna do is go to the riviera and drink their unhealthy drinks. In my time we alway...**

**Dragemenian Jew: I work hard! Both with my job and my fan fiction, I deserve a little vacation now and then. And for gods sake! What is it with you people and showing up at the wrong chaps? **

**Gen fu: Not my chap? But I was told? **

**Dragemenian Jew: You was told wrong! **

**Jack Sparrow: Hello! Boney Lass! **

**Dragemenian Jew: For gods sake! Jack *glares at said pirat* if I it is DOA and not marked CROSSOVER it means one thing. Not. Your. Story. **

**Jack Sparrow *grins*: Pirat sweets, don´t follow rules! **

**Dragemenian Jew: Yes you do! *still glares at said pirate* when I´m in charge. *looks at fans* Apparently I´ve got some matters to sort out here. So while I do, read!  
**

"_**Excuses works out fine" **_

"I seriously don´t know what´s up with that chick!" Christie exclaimed as she glared at the screen.

She and Bayman were sitting in front of the TV, looking at some kind of talk-show who´s name escaped Bayman right now.

"I mean…, she was dumb enough to bye that crap car and now she complains cause it´s mash one year later!" Christie kept on energetically.

"Yeah," Bayman said, "that was really dumb of her".

Truth to say he didn´t even know how dumb she was cause he hadn´t focused on the show enough to care. He was just focusing on one thing right now witch was…

"In fact she´s so dumb I don´t care about what she´s saying anymore", Bayman said, "so I think I´m gonna go out to get some fresh air. I´m gonna need that for tonight".

It went silent for a while.

"Fine by me!" Christie shrugged her shoulders, "just make sure not to get lost".

"Yeah, right!"

"If you say so!" Christie raised an eyebrow, "but I wont call the police if you do".

"Ha ha!" Bayman made a face, "see you later!"

Yeah! He was going_ there_ today. He didn´t know what made him feel this way but if he didn´t get back there today he´d never figure it out. _Guess I´ll find out in due time. _Bayman thought as he went into the hall.

_._

"Woohooo! Knock out!" Zack yelled out.

"Yeeeees!" Hitomi screamed, high-fiving the black man.

The two friends were lying in the orange couch in Zacks apartment, looking at the boxing match on Zacks flat screen TV. Everything would have been wonderful if it hadn´t been for…

"Keep your voices down the two of you!"

Hitomi rolled eyes at the loud female voice, piercing her ears. Zack only gave a resigned sigh.

"You´re screaming as if though you were celebrating the ending of world-war three!" the blond woman ran out of the kitchen, a furious expression in her face.

Nicki! Hitomi rolled eyes. She couldn´t for the life of her grasp, why Zack had got engaged to that woman.

The amount of silicon filling those lips made it so that she hardly ever smiled, (or at least that was Hitomis theory to her sour face) and the only time she seemed to show any sign of appreciation was when Zack bought her a new pair of shoes. Even though Hitomi partly understood the reasons for Zacks choice of partner, she´d never say (not even with a knife to her throat) that Nicki had any resemblance to…

"And why are you looking at this nonsense in the first place!" Nicki exclaimed as she pointed at the TV, "don´t you know that this is brain-damaging".

_Nope! _Hitomi thought calmly, _She wouldn´t say that for a million dollars. _

"Baby!" Zack said with a smile, "it´s just some good ol boxing!"

Nicki only snorted as an answer.

"I´m going out shopping with Rita today!" she said, her lips still hanging down as if though she´d put 20 kilos weights on them, "see you later, darling".

She bent down, pressing her lips against Zacks. Hitomi grimaced. _Poor Zack!_ _Kissed? By those lips…Nobody deserves that! _

"See ya later baby"! Zack called out as the woman in the tight, blue dress left the room.

"Thank god!" Hitomi exclaimed as the door was locked behind Nicki.

"Hitomi!" Zack reprimanded her.

"What?" Hitomi looked calmly at him, "I know you´re thinking it to".

It went silent for a while, Zack sighing.

"Tina is going to perform at "Club Burn" in a week", Hitomi turned serious, "are you coming?"

The expression on Zacks face was tired, almost distressed and for a moment Hitomi wished she hadn´t asked.

This last year she´d seen the bubbly, funny and always smiling Zack turn into a serious, tired and torn individual she´d never seen before, and she had a good guess to what had caused his transformation.

"I don´t think I´m in town that date", by the fleeing gaze and his quick answer Hitomi could almost tell he was lying.

"Zack!" Hitomis smile was friendly but knowing, "you can´t avoid this forever!"

It went quiet for a while before Zack gave a deep sigh.

"But she doesn´t want anything to do with me!" Zack exclaimed, "she clarified it very well last year".

"Aw, don´t mind it!" Hitomi exclaimed, "Tina when she´s upset… come with me! It´ll be fun and the way Tina´s feeling right now… she could really need some cheering up".

"Cheer up?" Zack frowned.

"Yeah, something´s happened", Hitomi said evasive, "Hey! I´m getting the impression you´ve been reeeeeeal lazy with practicing super-smash, these three weeks I haven´t seen or heard from you", the girl gave a meaningful smirk, "am I correct?"

Zack only grinned as an answer.

"That´s the part where you´re wrong girly!" he said, "I´ve been improving my skills to perfection while you´ve been at the Dojo, kicking sacks, so prepare yourself for one hell of a outclass!"

"I believe that when I see it!" Hitomi said calmly.

"Put the game in the X-Box and I´ll show you!"

"Sure!" Hitomi shrugged her shoulders, still with a smile on her lips, "but I hope for the sake of your male pride that you´re right".

_._

Ryu stood silent as he polished another one of the vases he´d got to the shop a month ago. Apparently people had lots of things they wanted to get rid of. Ryu mechanically moved the towel back and forth, even though he knew there was no need for it.

He guessed he just needed to stay busy, since his work no longer consisted of that much practical chores.

Ryu almost turned irritated when hearing the windlass. Another customer that he had no desire in the world speaking with.

"Hi!"

Ryus jaw almost literally dropped when seeing the person on the other side of the door.

Bayman was looking at Ryu with a serious, almost timid expression on his face.

"Hi", Ryu said, managing in keeping his voice calm.

_Wasn´t he here just two days ago? I didn´t think that he was going to… _the ninja looked at the other man in silence.

"I know the shop won´t open before another ten minutes but since you were standing behind the disk…", Bayman spoke slowly.

"No problem", Ryu gave a smile that was more genuine then it´d been for a long time. "Good", Bayman nodded, seriously.

It went silent for a while.

"You´re coming alone today?" Ryu asked since he didn´t really know what else to say.

"Yes", Bayman nodded again, looking down at his hands, "Christie is a little…"

"Don´t worry about it", Ryu shrugged his shoulders, "not all people are interested in antiques".

"I guess not".

_I wonder what he´s doing here, _Ryu thought as he looked at the other man. His ninja logic´d tell him, Bayman was sent here by an unknown employer to "deal with" Ryu. But the other mans wide blue eyes, slight confused facial expression and slow speech told him differently. _There is something about him, something really_…

"You live in town?" Ryu managed in asking after a while.

"Yes", Bayman nodded again, "you?"

"Yes", Ryu nodded, "a bit further from here".

It turned silent again, both men looking down at the floor.

"So you´re selling antiques?" Bayman asked, his voice thoughtful.

"Yes", Ryu said, equally serious, "I´m selling antiques", the ninja stood silent for a while before figuring out the obvious question, "and you?"

"Bartender", Bayman said to Ryus surprise.

It went silent, Ryu looking in disbelief at the other man. If this was true it meant Bayman wasn´t…

"Yeah", Bayman said as if though he felt he had to explain this further, "I´m not you know… since the tournament ended and everything…", he frowned, "I felt that… well…I´m serving drinks now, it´s way better!"

"And I´m selling antiques", the ninja said.

"Yes, you do", Bayman said thoughtfully, his eyes going all over the shelves, "very nice ones".

For some reason this made Ryus face flush. He was just going to say something when the windlass interrupted him, now making the ninja almost infuriated. Why did the customers always have to arrive once he was… Was what really? Ryu didn´t get time answering his own question before the small, overweight lady, stepped up to the disk with her face held high.

"Has the table that I booked arrived yet?", she said in a sour voice.

_No it hasn´t! _Ryu thought furiously, _I told you it´d come in a week, it´s only gone two days. _

"Well...", Bayman gave a shy half smile again, "see you later!"

"See you, later!" without being aware of his actions Ryu smiled back.

_._

"Yes, you do and very nice ones", Bayman muttered as he made his way home from the curio-shop, "congratulations Bayman! You´ve just scored yourself the rank of biggest crap-talker of the year".

Bayman gave a deep sigh. Seriously, how could any individual manage in speaking that much nonsense in two minutes?

But then again, it seemed Bayman´d never been able to speak anything but nonsense when being around Ryu, witch had been proved already in the third tournament.

"_I´m going to introduce this knife to Donovan", _the embarrassing line Bayman´d uttered one year and a half ago at the third tournament, came back to haunt him. _As if though there was anyone at that tournament NOT knowing that was what I planned to do with it! _

He had to make a better impression next time. How that was going to happen was a mystery, but still….

_._

"Listen up pumpkin!" Bass voice was soft as he held the phone in his hand, "it´s been a real long time since we last spoke, and I want you to know that whatever happened in the past… I love you and I´d like you to know that no matter what you do, I will always support you. We may not always agree but…", the large man took a deep breath, "that doesn´t mean I don´t care about you. Anyway… if you hear this message, will you please be kind and pick up the phone. Anyway, take care pumpkin! I love you!" Bass sighed as he put down the phone.

At least he´d made a try! If Tina didn´t call back, at least he knew he´d done all he could do.

_._

Tina sighed as she sat down on her couch. At least she´d managed in finishing the lyrics! She didn´t know if it was particularly good but at least she knew that she´d sticked to the dead- line.

Tina frowned as she looked at the ID-caller. After a long explanation by Hitomi, the rock-star´d finally learnt how to use it, witch didn´t mean she _had _used it yet. Tina moved her feet back and forth as she looked at the black machine. Should she? Or should she not?

For some reason the machine filled her with a nauseating feeling, making her heart increase to double speed.

She held her finger over the red button. She wanted to press it so badly but at the same time she didn´t want to…

"Not today", she said as she went into the kitchen, taking the coke out of the fridge. Even though she was now sure she could handle the buttons, she wasn´t sure she could handle all that was in it yet.

_._

Christie took a deep breath as she looked threw the post. Commercial, commercial, commercial and… Christies heartbeats increased as she looked at the letter. Sent from London. Maybe she´d received an answer after all.

Christie was like a child who´d just received her Christmas gift as she ripped open the envelope. But as she read the letter her spirit dropped.

"The necklace I reported missing when visiting Britain two weeks ago", she muttered.

Normally this´d made her thrilled. Her necklace was expensive and a very rare kind but now that she waited for something even more valuable…

"Hello".

Christie sighed as the door was opened. Bayman´d been gone for at least two hours but apparently he was back now.

"Where´ve you been?" the question was asked out of politeness more then anything else.

"Just walking around", Bayman shrugged his shoulders as he came to stand beside Christie, "what´s that?" he pointed at the letter in Christies hands.

"I got the necklace back", Christie said casually, "the one I thought I´d lost in London".

"That´s good", Bayman said, "it was expensive, wasn´t it?"

"That´s very good", Christie said calmly though deep inside she wanted to cry.

She´d sent letters, she´d sent emails but she´d never got a single one back. Not even now, that it was getting close to Christmas. She guessed this confirmed it then, that she didn´t mean anything to anyone.

"Are you alright?" Bayman frowned as he looked at her.

"Just fine", Christie smiled, casually, "and you didn´t loose your way?"

"Nope", Bayman gave a calm smile, "ready to meet your tormentor?"

"I guess not", Christie said, "but at least we aren´t going to work in another three hours".

Both of them knew very well that three hours weren´t enough to prepare for the Malevolant four eyes treatment, but at least one got used to it. Hopefully Christie´d get used to the lack of letters as well!

_._

"I don´t see the point in me being here!" Zack exclaimed as Hitomi dragged him past another wide screen TV.

"Scch!" Hitomi hissed, "just pretend you´re looking for a new TV."

"But I`ve already got three of them at…. Aooouch!" the boxer exclaimed as Hitomis foot hit his shin, "what was that for?"

The two´d been at the tech-store for about half an hour, pretending to look at various devices but yet the person Hitomi´d wanted to see hadn´t showed up.

"Look! That one´d fit your house perfectly, wouldn´t it?" Hitomi smiled, pretending as if though nothing´d happened as she looked at another TV.

"Hitomi!", Zack sighed, "I can´d do this as if though… if you want to talk to him you should…".

For about the third time today Zack was pinched, painfully hard in the arm.

"Aooouch why are you…" Zack exclaimed before looking at Hitomi who was now smiling frenetically at the person in front of them.

"Can I help you with something?" a melodic, British accent came out of the mans lips, as his blue eyes regarded the two with an almost enthralling, expression.

If Zacks guesses were correct, the boy was about Hitomis age. He was about Zacks height, but slimmer, his hair a dark brown and his lips filled.

The thought almost made Zack smirk. He was so going to terrorize Hitomi for this when they got away from here. But for now he was going to appear as normal as possible (if that indeed was _possible_ for someone like Zack) not to ruin her chances.

"So you´ve decided to bye a new TV after all", the man looked at Hitomi.

"Well…not really", Hitomi said, the color rising on her cheeks.

"No, I want one", Zack said in her place, giving a large smile, "mine finally gave in after two years!"

"Aw, so it´s time to get into the new age", the boy chuckled.

"I guess you could call it that!"

"So what are you looking for?"

As Zack made up one of the worst mumbo-jumbo stories he´d told hitherto, he couldn´t help thinking the name on the employees badge seemed familiar. Alex Williams! Williams? Wasn´t there someone at the tournament named..?  
It didn´t matter! Zack decided. Hitomi wanted her guy and that was what´d she´d get if they only handled things right.

_._

Ryu was lying on his bed, sighing as he looked at his selephone. This was his usual ritual of listening threw messages, hoping one of them was from his wi… or well ex-wife.

But knowing Irene called him well… once a month if he was lucky, he would never be one to miss those calls.

But as Ryu put the phone to his ear, he heard the familiar voice of the message-box, "you have zero new messages".

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. After all this had been expected, it always was!

What hadn´t been expected on the other hand had been the phone ringing all of a sudden, almost making Ryu jump to his feet. He hadn´t got a call in months!

"Hello", Ryu answered.

"Hi Ryu!" Ayane said calmly, "listen up! I´ve just got to the airport, can you come pick me up in… let´s say twenty minutes".

_Twenty minutes? _Ryu was about to fall out of the bed. He hadn´t heard from either Ayane or Hayate in almost a year and now Ayane was here, asking to be picked up at the airport in twenty minutes?

"What airport are you at?" was the only thing the already shocked ninja managed in answering.

_._

"I hope this is as good as he´s saying", Zack stated.

As Zack and Hitomi walked home from the Tech-store, Zack was carrying a huge box in his arms.

"It´s heavy as hell", Zack grimaced, "so I gotta give it to your dude! You´ll have to be hell of a sales man to make me bye my third TV. Next time you´ll have to go there yourself", Zack turned serious all of a sudden, looking at the young girl, "I mean… sooner or later you gotta talk. I mean…_you _gotta talk".

Hitomi looked back at Zack in silence.

"I mean…", Zack gave a small smile, "a forth TV just won´t fit into my house".

Hitomi sighed.

"Yeah, I know", she said, "but I´m not like you. I can´t just…. make up crap as I go".

At this both of them laughed. If there was anything Zack was good at it was indeed "making up crap as he went".

"No one can!" Zack said calmly, "I am the only professional on that area and if anyone tries to steel it away from me…"

"You´ll bye another flat-screen", Hitomi gave him a meaningful smirk.

"Ha ha!" Zack made a face, "but honestly sweets", Zack turned serious again, "very few of us are good at making up _crap as we go_ but most of us doesn´t have to. So if I were you I´d just talk, no matter what comes up_. _Trust me! You´ll gain on that!"

"Well", Hitomi shrugged her shoulders, "I´ll try!"

She wasn´t really sure it´d work, but after all Zack was right. If she´d leave everything up to everyone else, she´d never be able to get closer to Alex.

"Hey, Zack!" Hitomi said after a while.

"Yes!"

"Are you sure, you´re not coming on Friday?"

It turned quiet for a while, Zack looking away from Hitomi.

The young girl sighed. If there was only be a way to solve this ridiculous matter.

"You know", Zack said after a while, his face looking ten years as old as usual, "I´m not very found of talking to people that tells me to "Fuck of!" and never talk to them again. Neither am I very found of confronting someone who´s threatened to "break my legs of" if I ever get close to her again. And given her results in the tournament…", Zack frowned, "I´m pretty sure she means business".

"But Zack…", Hitomi said, "she said it cause she was upset and I think you know why", the look on Hitomis face was unusually reproaching for coming from her.

"I know", Zack sighed, "but I doubt she´d ever let me get close enough to let me explain myself".

"She will", Hitomi said, "you just have to give her some time!"

"Well" Zack put his TV down on the ground, "This is your apartment so I guess we´ll have to say bye for today".

"Okey", Hitomi put on a smile, "I give in for now! But I´ll keep calling you and nag your nerves apart til you give me a yes".

"You should be so glad I like you either way", Zack muttered, hugging Hitomi.

"Thanks for today!" Hitomis voice was honest, as well as her embrace, "I really hope the TV turns out ok".

"Hope your dude turns out okey". Zack grinned at Hitomi as he let go, lifting up his TV.

"Thank you", Hitomi smiled, "good night!"

"Goodnight!" Zack said, as he and his TV disappeared into the night.

**AN: So how was the story? Was it a good reward for your long wait? Well, let me know D:)! **


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So hi I´m back again, just wanting to say "SORRRY FOR THE WAIT!". I swear I wasn´t meaning for it to take this long but I´ve been prioritating other fics and by the looks off it far to much. But now after all this time I´m back, hoping badly that my language has improved :P.  
**

**The**_** gifts of friends or the gift of friendship? **_

"Ha!" Elliot exclaimed as he launched a kick at Gen fu. The old man blocked the attack effortlessly but his pupil wasn´t giving up this easily.

"Ha!" Elliot sent a straight palm to his master`s face, followed by a punch that hit his master in the stomach.

"You´re improving", Gen fu smiled at his student as he took a step back.

"Thank you master", Elliot answered humbly, giving a bow.

It seemed Elliot´s long training had finally paid off, in fact so much the boy nearly forgot about his home-sickness.

"You´ve improved quickly these last days", the expression on Gen fu´s face witnessed off the elder being genuinely impressed.

"I have?" Elliot looked back at his master.

In fact the boy had been so busy improving, he hadn´t even noticed he´d improved.

"Yes!" the old man smiled, "you´ve done very well these last days".

_These last days, _since Eliot hadn´t noticed he´d improved to begin with he hadn´t really noticed when or where the change had started, or how for that matter. Against his will the laughter of a girl a few years older than himself returned to him, her soft body against his during the instant it took for her to tackle him to the ground and last but not least the hard finger she´d stuck into his rib. That damn mupet, oh how he detested that Lei fang!

"Do you feel like some tea?"

"Yes, please master", Eliot gave a polite smile.

"Good", the older man smiled back, "let´s take a break then".

_._

"But why?" Lei fang exclaimed, "you´re not even gonna be around for New Year?"

Jann Lee smiled, shaking his head.

"But come on!" she whined, small pout to her lips, "new year is only once a year!"

"And this is a once in a life-time experience", the black haired man said softly, "I´ve wished for this my entire life".

The two friends were sitting in the garden outside Lei fang´s parent´s house, discussing the news Jann Lee had just received.

"But Jann!" Lei fang looked at her when putting enough thought about it, actually best friend, a pleading almost desperate expression behind her humorous sulking.

"Lei fang", Jann Lee´s voice was grave, "If I don´t do this now I might never get the chance to do this again. Staring in a movie is a one chance in a life time for a martial artist".

Lei fang gave a deep sigh as the two fell quiet. She could admit she was being terribly selfish in her pleas. She had always been painfully conscious of Jann Lee´s love for action-movies as well as his dreams of participating in them, after all it was the second best thing to participating in real fights witch they´d both vowed never to do again. But Jann Lee was also the first real friend she´d ever had, and the only one to truly understand her, her strange devotion to martial-arts as well as her strange recent experiences in life.

"Look", she said finally, "I am really happy for you and I really think you deserve this chance you´ve been given but it´s going to feel so damn lonely here once you´re gone".

Jann Lee sighed as he gave a comforting smile.

"I´m going to miss you to Lei", he said, "I´ve never had a better sparring partner. But remember a few months pass by quickly and before you know it we´ll be back in the dojo again".

Lei fang gave a weak smile through her pale face.

"I know", she said, "so, I guess I should stop being such a baby now".

"I like you being _such a baby_", Jann Lee gave a comforting smile, "who else is to miss me when I´m gone?"

Despite off her sadness, Lei fang looked back at her friend with a genuine smile on her lips.

"No offence", she said, "but sometimes you´re really stupid Jann! Who is _not _going to miss you when you go?"

The two friends´s gazes met in a moment off joy before they wrapped their arms around one another in a long embrace.

"I´m really going to look forward to your return", Lei fang whispered.

"So will I", Jann Lee said softly, "so will I".

_._

"So what on earth am I going to get her?" Eliot sighed as he walked past the streets. The purchase of the luck dragon silly as it sounded had really brought the worst out of the poor boy. When it existed he´d at least had _some _idea of what to give his mother, now even the slightest fragment of ideas of ideas were completely wiped out off his sub-cranium. Eliot was not temperamental or violent by nature but the boy was thinking a lot of thoughts involving physical injury and the person buying the last luck dragon right now.

"Well, well", he muttered, "at least there is more than three weeks left until Christmas".

So what was he supposed to buy, what could his mother have use for currently? Eliot truly didn´t know but something told him he´d given her pottery one Christmas too many. _Perhaps I should buy that tea-set after all then? _

Eliot decided to give his favorite gift-shop one last try before making up his mind on something else. Deciding there was no more time to waste the boy ran back to this familiar part of the street.

_._

Lei fang sighed as she walked down the familiar part of the street. She didn´t know how she felt right now. She´d just said goodbye to the closest, or correction; the only close friend she had in the entire China and perhaps more importantly so her one and only sparring-partner. She repeated it again inside her head; **her one and only sparring-partner**! She honestly couldn´t tell witch loss was worse, that off her sparring-partner or that off her close friend.

"Damn!" she muttered as she kicked at a soda-can lying by her feet, "bloody damn!"

Of course there was always Gen fu and that shy little apprentice off his. Lei fang grinned as she remembered the confused bordering on angry expression on his soft face. It would be hilarious to annoy Eliot again was she ever to pass by.

"It might in fact be quite soon now that Jann Lee won´t be here anymore", she said out loud as she looked ahead off her.

This day however would not be today as she still had something more interesting in mind. That ancient tea-set she´d seen around the corner just a few weeks ago badly needed to get bought. It had needed to be exactly 14 days ago when she´d first laid eyes on it (for the purpose off beautiful tea-sets was to be used for tea, wasn´t it? Not looking good on a shelf) but considering she hadn´t yet received her salary from the delivery-job back then she had decided to let it look good on the shelf for just a tad bit longer. _I hope I haven´t waited too long, _she thought as she ran to the store.

_._

Jann Lee sighed as he packed his bag. Regardless of the fact this had been his dream ever since he was a child, utilizing the moves he´d seen his big idol handle so effortlessly while looking into the camera knowing that he for once wouldn´t be seen as a trouble-maker for using them but in fact the hero millions of other children would place on their shelves he felt alarmed and perhaps even slightly melancholic. Apart from those times twice or forth a year when he´d travelled to Japan in order to participate in the DOA-tournaments he hadn´t once left this place and leaving it no matter how cliché that would sound would feel like leaving part off himself behind. Nobody knew how long the recording off "Tainted fists" would take, a kung fu movie that was said to take the art of fighting to another dimension (whatever that meant with all these new computer technics making an entrance to the screen) but knowing how long some off his favorite movies had taken to get to the screen he knew forth hand that he could count on at least 2 months.

Lei fang, that was perhaps his greatest concern now that he was clueless about where his long-time friend and rival was to turn for some sparring-help now that he himself wasn´t to be in the country anymore. _Knowing her she´ll go back to annoy Eliot and the old man in no time, _the kung fu fighter smiled as he remembered their visit to Gen fu´s dojo. As much as he hated admitting it he would miss her exactly as much as she´d miss him and that would say not a little. Jann Lee had sworn he´d never let another individual get close to him after suffering the loss off his parents but perhaps the pain off their death combined with having so many memories, both good and bad and nobody to share them with was what had broken him in the end. He loved Lei fang, not as a lover or potential crush but as someone who had shared with him the two most important years and experiences of his lives, the DOA-tournaments.

No one could ever understand the thrill, the fear or that third dimension added to one´s life unless they´d not only seen it with their own eyes but also participated in it. Lei fang had done just that and as a true martial artists put not only her heart but every bit off blood, sweat and tears into her training and later on her fights and although Jann Lee had never thought he would he would now forever respect her for that. She had set out to defeat him and she had done it, not the first, not the second or even the third time they´d come across each other but she´d managed the forth and someone who´d show that much dedication would forever hold a place as a true fighter in Jann Lee´s heart.

Jann Lee grinned once again at the thought of his friend. She´d told him that time after the forth tournament that he wouldn´t regret becoming her sparring-partner when returning to China and although he´d doubted it before he could sure state her right now. _You´ll see, you´ll do just fine without me though, _he thought as he finally decided his friend would be fine.

_._

Lei fang whistled as she entered the store. New music-boxes, new glass-animals as well as some utterly cute and almost small to the point of being miniature notepads had been added to the store since last time a few days ago when she´d arrived but she was yet to see her set off tea-cups.

"Excuse me Mr?" the happy girl walked up to the man behind the disk.

Just as she´d expected the grey haired man wasn´t even trying to hide his annoyance for her as he looked up from his newspaper with a broad frown on his face.

"Yes?" the dragged out words sounded more like a sigh than actual works.

_Aw, it was just a damn glass-dragon and I even bought the tiny, little thing! _The girl thought as she struggled to keep her smile up and not get her annoyance get the best off her.

"The tea-set you had here", Lei fang started, "is it still available?"

"Oh", the man´s frown seemed to grow even wider, the corners off his mouth lowering as he spoke, "I locked those away so that _people_", and Lei fang couldn´t have mistaken on who these _people _were as the look in his eyes would be best described as utter and complete despise, "wouldn´t break them before they got the idea off buying them".

"Oh I see", Lei fang gave a chuckle as she pretended to be oblivious to the implied accusation, "but my tea-set at home is broken so I´d really like to get hold off a new one as soon as possible. So if you bring forth one off them I´ll buy it as soon as possible".

"I see", the old man said but Lei fang could tell that what he really wanted to say was, _I´m not surprised, it seems one can´t keep you in rooms with furniture. _

"So?" Lei fang tilted her head to the side, looking as adorable as she possibly could, "will you bring it forth".

"Sure", the man´s voice was but a reluctant mutter as he walked into what seemed to be the store-room behind him.

_Yes, yes, yes! _Lei fang was jumping with happiness on the inside. She had done it! She had managed in catching the magical tea-set before it set off elsewhere. Once she got home she´d celebrate this in the best way possible, by utilizing it off course.

_._

Gen fu sat in solitude while he drank his tea. He was indeed tired after the training he had taken himself through today although he was sure that the reason for his tiredness wasn´t physical. Perhaps he had made a mistake in sending his apprentice off early today, not because he thought his apprentice couldn´t improve without working like an animal every second off his life but because off the long times off pondering this often led to.

He was over his sixties and therefor technically retired and the only reason he had this dojo was him owning it since long ago. This meant that his daughter and grandchild off course were busy at work and school during the endless amounts off time he had on his hands and had no opportunity keeping him company at times like these. To make matters worse Mei Lin and her mother lived hours away from Peking and although his daughter Ling had promised to spend New Year with him he was unsure off weather she could indeed make it as planned.

Being that she was a strict career woman, determined in keeping her job as executive producer at "Ocean Studio´s", a company for animated movies that had existed since five years back at all costs, Gen fu´d be damned if she didn´t count working during holidays as one of those costs. Considering the fact that he was one generation older than her, Gen fu knew well that keeping your career alive as a woman in this country had and still despite off improvements on papers continued to be difficult so he really couldn´t blame Ling for making the choices she made. Still so, although he at times was ashamed to admit it he sometimes wished that she´d aimed for a career that wasn´t equally demanding. Not something as simple as a house-wife but a profession that at least allowed you to plan your weekends at peace. Once again, he shouldn´t be one to point fingers since _his _career as a martial artist practically had cost him everything similar to a social life he had back in the days and now that he actually had more than time enough for one he didn´t have any friends to share it with.

"At least I can afford to drink good tea", the old man muttered as he took another sip off his half full cup.

Life was the way it was and the consequences for the mistakes off once youths were such that one didn´t see the warning-signs until at least a good 20-30 years later, and the only thing one could do about it then was teaching the new generations not to make the same mistakes. So maybe, just maybe he had done a good deed, sending Eliot off early today. Telling himself it was the right decision the old man once again took a sip off his tea, actually finding that the thought itself made it taste better.

_._

"Is it true?" Eliot had heard the expedite the first time as well as the second time he´d asked but that didn´t mean the answer in any way was easier to digest.

"Yes", the grey haired man´s eyes were filled with compassion, "she bought the last one just five minutes ago. If I had known you wanted it…"

"No, no", Eliot gave a smile despite off the disappointment, "I´m sure I´ll find something else".

The older man gave a deep sigh.

"Had I known you wanted it", he said, "I wouldn´t have told her about its existence! This girl is going to manage in breaking it the moment she pores tea into it, I swear", the man muttered as he shook his head, "never have I seen a more reckless, disrespectful young lady. She even said she´d broken her tea-set at home".

Despite off his recent let down Eliot couldn´t help reacting to this.

"She said that?" he raised an eyebrow, "that she´d actually broken her own?"

"No", the shopkeeper muttered, "she said it was broken but I assumed _she_ was the reason. Running around with fragile thing the way she does!"

Eliot shook his head in return. Indeed some people knew nothing off respect and to see things in a more optimistic light, things could have been far worse. As it was now he had to rethink about his mother´s Christmas gift but at least he had almost a month left to do so and at least his mother wasn´t picky when it came to such things. Worse would have been if Lei fang actually had entered this shop and he´d been forced to meet her! Now _that _would have been a nightmare come true considering how little doing Eliot really wanted with said girl, he was so lucky only he knew about this shop. But little did he know how close said nightmare had been to coming true or that he´d just gotten another reason to dislike his former opponent.

**AN: For anyone who might wonder, who´s perhaps gotten into the series post DOA Dimensions or post DOA5 these events are set after DOA4 and the hopes and wishes I had for many characters after that. Since as you know I wasn´t very found off DOA4 getting a sequal to begin with :P. **

**As for DOA5 I am going to rant some as well, just shortly however as well as marketing another fic off mine that I will post pre or post Christmas. I have mixed feelings towards this game truth to tell. Some things I loved, Bayman´s role in the story (so glad to see him doing other things than trying to kill Donovan :P), Rig and Mila both etc but some things however I was less found off, cutting Leon completely out off the game without even explaining his link to Bayman properly as well as taking Christie all the way on the sociopath-rode. Don´t get me wrong, she was cool in DOA5 and her voice actor in both languages was excellent BUT they could have made her a lot more 3 dimensional had they picked to expand on her background instead. And that however brings me to point two: **

**The next fic I´m planning on working with is a DOA5 script I wrote myself before the game was released with _my_ wishes for the story as well as my headcanon for different characters backgrounds and relationships to one another. If I´ll place it in a genre in advance I´ll probably call it Sci-fi/Drama (since I suck at expanding on Action-scenes :P) and if you like outside the box-thinking I believe it will be in your tastes. Not a yaoi and yuri-fest since I KNOW that´s what you might suspect after reading most off my stories but just perhaps a little hint here and there depending on how one chooses to interpretate things but there will be obvious some obvious straight pairings there however, just to warn people. Some a bit "crackier" and some a bit closer to canon.  
**

**However, now I´m going to stop rambling on about my other works and now asked what you actually thought off _this _one. I hope this chapter didn´t disappoint and I really hope you´ll review it later. Pwease, pweaaaaase? :3  
**


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